Elon Musk’s xAI sees another high-level exit as co-founder Tony Wu departs, marking the latest leadership change at the fast-growing artificial intelligence company.
Tony Wu confirmed late Monday that he has stepped down from the startup, becoming one of several founding members to move on. His exit follows the departures of Igor Babuschkin, Kyle Kosic and Christian Szegedy. Greg Yang also revealed last month that he would be reducing his responsibilities as he focuses on treatment for Lyme disease.
In a message shared on X, Wu reflected on his decision to leave, writing that it was “time for my next chapter.” He added that the current era presents enormous opportunity, saying that even a small, AI-powered team can “move mountains and redefine what’s possible.”
Mounting Scrutiny and Controversy
Wu’s departure comes at a challenging moment for xAI. The company has faced growing public criticism and regulatory scrutiny in several countries. Concerns intensified after its Grok AI chatbot and image-generation tools were used to create and circulate explicit deepfake content without consent. Some of the manipulated images reportedly involved real individuals, including minors, prompting investigations and backlash.
The controversy has put additional pressure on the company as it continues to expand its influence in the competitive AI landscape.
From Ambitious Launch to Mega Deal
Musk founded xAI in 2023 alongside a team of 11 other experts, positioning the company as a direct challenger to industry leaders such as OpenAI and Google. At launch, xAI described its mission as seeking to “understand the true nature of the universe,” signaling broad and ambitious goals for its research and products.
Despite internal turnover and external challenges, Musk has continued to make bold strategic moves. Last week, he announced that SpaceX had acquired xAI in what could pave the way for a massive public offering in the future. According to documents reviewed by CNBC, the deal values SpaceX at approximately $1 trillion and xAI at $250 billion, making it the largest merger ever recorded.
This is not the first time Musk has reshaped xAI’s corporate structure. In March of last year, he merged the AI venture with X in a multibillion-dollar transaction, further integrating his technology ecosystem.
As leadership changes unfold, the company’s next chapter remains closely watched by investors, regulators and the broader tech community.
