Musk loses last co-founder: Ross Nordzin leaves xAI

Ross Nordzin officially left xAI this week. He was the last of the eleven co-founders involved in launching the company alongside Musk. Information about his affiliation with the startup has already disappeared from the social media platform X.

Experience and role in the company

Nordzin held a key position, coordinating priorities and overseeing the execution of xAI’s main objectives. Prior to joining the startup, he was the technical manager of Tesla’s Autopilot program, developing data centers for the Full Self-Driving system. He also participated in major organizational changes at Twitter following Musk’s acquisition of the platform in 2022 and is known as a close friend of James Musk, the entrepreneur’s cousin.

Mass departures among co-founders

Since the beginning of this year, seven co-founders have left the company, including Kroiss, who departed almost simultaneously with Nordzin. Earlier departures included Babushkin, Kosik, and Szegedi. All of them oversaw key startup projects, including coding tools and image generation platforms.

Reorganization and future plans

The wave of departures coincided with xAI’s integration with SpaceX ahead of an upcoming initial public offering, which could set new records. In February, Elon Musk announced a company overhaul, emphasizing the need to accelerate task execution. He stressed that xAI was initially built with flaws and is now undergoing a full overhaul, while actively recruiting new employees.