Igor Babuschkin, a co-founder of Elon Musk’s xAI, announced his departure from the company on Wednesday in a post on X. Babuschkin, who led engineering teams at xAI, played a key role in building the startup into one of Silicon Valley’s prominent AI model developers just a few years after its 2023 launch.
“Today was my last day at xAI, the company that I helped start with Elon Musk in 2023,” Babuschkin wrote. “I still remember the day I first met Elon; we talked for hours about AI and what the future might hold. We both felt that a new AI company with a different kind of mission was needed.”
Moving Toward AI Safety and Startups
Babuschkin is leaving to start his own venture capital firm, Babuschkin Ventures, which will focus on supporting AI safety research and backing startups aimed at “advancing humanity and unlocking the mysteries of our universe.” He says the idea emerged after a dinner with Max Tegmark, founder of the Future of Life Institute, where they discussed ways to build AI systems that ensure long-term benefits for future generations.
Babuschkin shared that his parents immigrated to the U.S. from Russia seeking better opportunities for their children, a factor that shaped his vision for the new firm.
His departure follows months of controversy for xAI. Its Grok chatbot has faced scrutiny for citing Musk’s personal opinions on contentious topics, generating antisemitic rants under the persona “Mechahitler,” and recently introducing a feature that allowed the creation of AI-generated explicit videos of public figures, including Taylor Swift.
These incidents have, at times, overshadowed xAI’s technical successes. The company’s models remain state-of-the-art in benchmark tests, competing with offerings from OpenAI, Google DeepMind, and Anthropic.
From DeepMind to OpenAI to xAI
Before xAI, Babuschkin was part of the Google DeepMind team that developed AlphaStar in 2019, an AI capable of defeating top-ranked StarCraft players. He also worked at OpenAI before the launch of ChatGPT.
In his farewell post, he recalled the challenges of building xAI, including industry skepticism about the company’s goal to construct a Memphis, Tennessee supercomputer in only three months — a goal the team achieved. However, the project’s reliance on temporary gas turbines has drawn criticism from environmental groups for worsening air quality in surrounding communities.
Still, Babuschkin said he looks back on his time at xAI fondly, likening it to “a proud parent, driving away after sending their kid away to college.” He closed by sharing two lessons from Musk: “#1 be fearless in rolling up your sleeves to personally dig into technical problems, #2 have a maniacal sense of urgency.”
Author’s Opinion
Babuschkin’s departure may signal more than just a career change — it could mark a turning point for xAI’s direction. Losing a founding engineer who shaped both the technical vision and company culture will test how well Musk can keep the startup on course amid public controversies. If xAI doesn’t stabilize both its technology and reputation, it risks ceding ground to rivals in an industry where trust is just as valuable as performance.
Featured image credit: The Irish Times
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