Amid xAI co-founder exits, Elon Musk poaches key engineers from AI coding startup Cursor

In a significant shift for Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence venture, xAI is facing a wave of co-founder departures, with Zihang Dai and Guodong Zhang being the latest to exit. As the company copes with these changes, it is simultaneously on the hunt for new talent to revitalize its operations. Recently, xAI made headlines by recruiting two senior engineers from the AI coding startup Cursor, Andrew Milich and Jason Ginsberg. Both have confirmed their transition through posts on X (formerly Twitter) and bring valuable experience from Cursor, which achieved an impressive $2 billion in annual revenue. Milich and Ginsberg will now report directly to Musk, marking a new chapter for xAI as they integrate into the existing team. Dai's departure last week was notable, as he removed any affiliation with xAI from his X profile, while Zhang is expected to follow suit shortly, according to reports from The Information. This exodus is part of a broader trend at xAI, which has seen several co-founders leave, including Toby Pohlen, Jimmy Ba, Tony Wu, and Greg Yang. Currently, only Manuel Kroiss and Ross Nordeen remain from the original team of 11 that Musk assembled to spearhead the initiative. In light of these changes, xAI is ramping up its hiring efforts, particularly for a new collaborative project with Tesla, known as "Marcohard." Musk has acknowledged past hiring oversights, promising to revisit the company’s interview history to reconnect with overlooked candidates. He expressed regret over the missed opportunities for talented individuals, stating, "Many talented people over the past few years were declined an offer or even an interview @xAI. My apologies." As xAI embarks on this ambitious recruiting campaign, it aims to build a robust team capable of propelling the company forward during this transformative period.