xAI in flux as cofounders depart and safety concerns surface

Elon Musk–backed xAI is experiencing a wave of departures after cofounders Tony Wu and Jimmy Ba left, leaving about half of the original 12 cofounders and prompting more staff to exit or start new ventures. The SpaceX merger is driving plans for an AI satellite factory on the Moon and a four-area structure: Grok Main and Voice, Coding, Imagine, and Macrohard, though insiders say safety has been sidelined and a push-to-production culture with little human review is fueling frustration and infighting as the company tries to outpace OpenAI.