Elon Musk's xAI loses second cofounder in 48 hours

Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters

• xAI cofounder Jimmy Ba said he left Elon Musk's AI startup on Tuesday.
• Ba is the second cofounder to depart xAI in less than 48 hours.
• Six of xAI's 12 original founders have now left — five in the past year.

XAI cofounder Jimmy Ba said he left Elon Musk's startup on Tuesday.

"It's time to recalibrate my gradient on the big picture. 2026 is gonna be insane and likely the busiest (and most consequential) year for the future of our species," Ba wrote on X.