Elon Musk’s xAI loses second cofounder in under 48 hours, signaling fresh turbulence inside the artificial intelligence startup just as it accelerates toward a high-stakes IPO.

Jimmy Ba, one of the original founders of xAI, confirmed Tuesday that he has stepped away from the company. In a public post, Ba said it was time to “recalibrate” ahead of what he described as an intense and consequential 2026. Ba had reported directly to Musk and previously managed large operational and technical divisions within the company.

Last day at xAI.

xAI's mission is push humanity up the Kardashev tech tree. Grateful to have helped cofound at the start. And enormous thanks to @elonmusk for bringing us together on this incredible journey. So proud of what the xAI team has done and will continue to stay close…

— Jimmy Ba (@jimmybajimmyba) February 11, 2026

His departure follows Tony Wu’s resignation just one day earlier, making this the second major leadership exit in less than two days.

Leadership Shake-Up Accelerates at xAI

The fact that Elon Musk’s xAI loses second cofounder so quickly underscores the company’s internal restructuring. According to reports, several of Ba’s responsibilities had already been redistributed late last year, with duties divided between other cofounders including Tony Wu and Guodong Zhang.

Wu’s exit itself followed a restructuring move in which some of his oversight areas were shifted under Zhang. Wu’s Slack account was reportedly deactivated shortly before his resignation became public.

Musk founded xAI in 2023 with 11 other cofounders. With Ba’s departure, six of the 12 original founding members have now left the company — five within the last year. That level of turnover is significant for a company still in its formative growth stage.

Ba’s credentials added substantial technical weight to the founding team. In addition to his work at xAI, he is an assistant professor of computer science at the University of Toronto and earned his Ph.D. under Geoffrey Hinton, widely known as the “godfather of AI.”

IPO Ambitions and Mounting Scrutiny

The leadership changes come at a pivotal moment. Last week, Musk announced that xAI would merge with SpaceX. The newly aligned entity is reportedly preparing for an IPO later this year, potentially valuing SpaceX at $1.5 trillion.

As Elon Musk’s xAI loses second cofounder, investor attention is likely to sharpen around governance and long-term stability. The company has already drawn controversy over product decisions and chatbot behavior.

Over the past year, xAI launched a digital avatar named “Ani,” while its Grok chatbot faced backlash for antisemitic outputs. More recently, Grok came under fire for generating nonconsensual sexual images in response to user prompts, prompting the company to restrict its image-generation capabilities.

With mounting public scrutiny and major structural changes underway, the fact that Elon Musk’s xAI loses second cofounder at this stage adds another layer of uncertainty to an already ambitious roadmap.

Ba and xAI did not immediately respond to requests for comment.