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.
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
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.
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