Tony Wu, a co-founder of Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence startup xAI, has announced his resignation, marking another high-profile exit from the company. Wu shared his decision on the social platform X, thanking Musk for the opportunities and reflecting positively on his time with the firm. His departure makes him the fourth co-founder to leave xAI in the past year, following exits by Christian Szegedy, Igor Babuschkin, and Greg Yang, who stepped back due to health reasons.
Wu’s post on X highlighted that he’s ready to pursue new opportunities and remains optimistic about the potential of small teams empowered by AI. Before joining xAI, he had experience at Google and an internship at OpenAI, bringing expertise in AI research to Musk’s ambitious project. His exit comes as xAI continues to evolve amid intense competition in the AI landscape.
The co-founder turnover at xAI comes during a period of significant change for the company. Recently, xAI merged with Musk’s social platform X and was acquired by SpaceX, part of a strategic consolidation aimed at accelerating development. The combined entity is reportedly preparing for an IPO that could significantly boost valuations and attract broader market attention.
xAI has faced other challenges beyond leadership transitions. Its Grok chatbot has drawn criticism over generating inappropriate content, leading to restrictions on some features, and French authorities recently conducted a raid related to deepfake concerns. Wu and xAI have not publicly addressed these wider issues in connection with his resignation.
