Elon Musk‘s last original co-founder at xAI, Ross Nordeen, has reportedly resigned. This marks the end of an era for the company, which is now undergoing a major reorganization as it prepares for a high-profile IPO.

Last Original Co-Founder Departs xAI

Nordeen, one of the 11 co-founders who helped launch xAI with Musk, has left the company, Business Insider reported, citing sources.

The 36-year-old had experience in high-performance computing and artificial intelligence systems from his work at Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) and brought that knowledge to xAI.

According to the report, he was a key figure at xAI, reporting directly to Musk and overseeing the company's operations.

Nordeen reportedly joined Musk after working at Tesla to help launch the AI startup in 2023. He had also played a role in organizing significant layoffs at X following Musk's takeover of the company in 2022.

Leadership Turnover And Scaling Challenges

His exit reflects a broader pattern at xAI, which has experienced multiple high-profile departures in recent months. It comes amid a wave of exits that started with Igor Babuschkin, who left in August 2025 to launch a new AI safety venture, and several others in a short span of time.

Nordeen joins a list of co-founders who have left the company, including Manuel Kroiss, Guodong Zhang, Zihang Dai, Toby Pohlen, Jimmy Ba, Tony Wu, and Greg Yang.

Since SpaceX merged with xAI, the company has undergone major restructuring, with many leaders appointed by Musk to key projects departing.

Although it is one of the best-funded players in the AI sector, xAI has struggled to scale and compete with major rivals such as OpenAI and Anthropic.

Despite these challenges, Musk remains optimistic about the future of xAI and has acknowledged the need to rebuild the company from the ground up. xAI has been actively recruiting new talent, including senior leaders from the AI coding company Cursor, Andrew Milich, and Jason Ginsberg.

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