xAI Recruitment and Co-Founder Departures

xAI is encountering significant changes as co-founders Zihang Dai and Guodong Zhang are the latest to exit the company. Concurrently, the organisation is on an active recruitment drive, aiming to reconstruct its team from the ground up.

Recent Co-Founder Exits at xAI

Zihang Dai, a prominent figure in xAI’s establishment, has reportedly departed last week, and his profile on X (formerly Twitter) no longer features the xAI badge. Guodong Zhang is expected to leave shortly, as reported by The Information.

Andrew Milich tweeted about his new role, mentioning he is joining both SpaceX and xAI alongside Jason Bud. He highlighted that xAI is advancing science fiction realities such as reusable rockets and humanoid robots. Milich’s previous experience includes a stint at SpaceX as an intern dealing with Dragon 2 crew displays.

If confirmed, these exits come on the heels of others, including the departures of Toby Pohlen, Jimmy Ba, Tony Wu, and Greg Yang. Consequently, only Manuel Kroiss and Ross Nordeen remain from the original eleven members who founded xAI with Musk.

xAI’s Recruitment Efforts

In light of recent developments, xAI has announced a hiring initiative across various teams for its new collaboration with Tesla, labelled “Marcohard.” The overall strategy appears focused on constructing a fresh team amid layoffs and co-founder departures.

Elon Musk acknowledged past hiring errors in a recent tweet, expressing apologies to those talented individuals who were turned down for positions or interviews at xAI. He stated that he and Baris Akis are reviewing the company’s interview records to reconnect with promising candidates.

Musk’s tweet read, “Many talented people over the past few years were declined an offer or even an interview @xAI. My apologies.” He further added, “@BarisAkis and I are going through the company interview history and reaching back out to promising candidates.”