Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence startup, xAI, is undergoing a major shake-up as its last remaining co-founders have reportedly exited the company.
Earlier this month, reports indicated that most of the startup’s original 11 co-founders had already left, leaving only two; Manuel Kroiss and Ross Nordeen. Now, new information suggests that both have also departed, marking a complete exit of the founding team.
According to Business Insider, Kroiss recently informed associates of his decision to leave the company, while Nordeen reportedly exited shortly after. Their departures signal a significant turning point for xAI as it enters a new phase under Musk’s leadership.
The leadership changes come as Musk openly acknowledged that the company’s initial structure fell short. He stated that xAI “was not built right the first time,” and is now being rebuilt from the ground up with a renewed focus.
As part of this restructuring, xAI has been brought under the broader umbrella of SpaceX, alongside Musk’s social platform X (formerly Twitter). The consolidation aligns several of Musk’s ventures under one corporate structure, especially as SpaceX reportedly explores plans to go public.
Both departing executives played key roles within xAI. Kroiss led the company’s pretraining efforts, while Nordeen served as a close operational partner to Musk. Nordeen previously worked at Tesla and was involved in major restructuring efforts following Musk’s acquisition of X in 2022.
With the founding team now fully exited, xAI appears to be entering a new chapter—one defined by internal restructuring, tighter integration with Musk’s broader business ecosystem, and a renewed push to compete in the rapidly evolving AI space.
