The xAI exodus: Another cofounder is gone, and one more has told people he's leaving

"After Dai and Zhang depart, only two of the 11 people who started the company with Musk in 2023 - Manuel Kroiss and Ross Nordeen - will remain. Zhang reports directly to Musk and led two of the company's key projects: Grok Code and Grok Imagine. He was given a larger role at xAI earlier this year, shortly before Wu left the company."

"This follows the recent exits of a string of xAI cofounders, including Toby Pohlen, Jimmy Ba, Tony Wu, and Greg Yang, all of whom have left since January. Zihang Dai left xAI earlier this week, according to people familiar with the matter. His xAI badge has vanished from his X profile."

"Before joining xAI, Zhang worked at Google DeepMind and received his Ph.D. at the University of Toronto, according to his LinkedIn profile. Dai was a member of technical staff at the company. He worked at Google and received a Ph.D. in Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University prior to helping found xAI."

xAI is experiencing significant leadership departures. Zihang Dai has already left the company, and Guodong Zhang is expected to depart soon. Zhang oversaw critical projects including Grok Code and Grok Imagine, reporting directly to Musk. This exodus follows recent exits of cofounders Toby Pohlen, Jimmy Ba, Tony Wu, and Greg Yang since January. After these departures, only Manuel Kroiss and Ross Nordeen will remain from the original eleven cofounders who started the company with Musk in 2023. Both departing engineers held significant technical roles, with Zhang receiving a larger role earlier this year before other cofounders began leaving.

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