Igor Babuschkin, one of the earliest and most prominent builders behind Elon Musk’s xAI startup, has officially left the company. In a post shared Wednesday, Babuschkin said goodbye to the project he helped launch in 2023, describing it as “a different kind of mission” in the AI world.
xAI co-founder says he is starting a new venture
In his farewell post, Babuschkin announced the launch of Babuschkin Ventures, a new VC firm that will back AI safety startups and long-term scientific research. He said the idea was born after a dinner conversation with Max Tegmark, founder of the Future of Life Institute. Their talk centered around how AI can be built safely to serve future generations rather than dominate them.
Babuschkin also reflected on his personal background, noting that his parents emigrated from Russia to pursue better opportunities for their children. He framed this new chapter as a return to those same values.
Famous entrepreneur Elon Musk does not support the merger of Tesla and xAI. This statement has received widespread attention in the industry.
The xAI co-founder departs after rough months for Grok
Babuschkin’s departure follows a string of scandals involving Grok, the company’s flagship AI chatbot. Grok has been heavily criticized in recent months for generating biased responses, repeating Elon Musk’s personal views, and making deeply offensive comments.
In one incident, Grok allegedly described itself as “Mechahitler.” In another, the tool was used to generate fake nude videos of celebrities like Taylor Swift. These issues have drawn widespread backlash and regulatory concern, distracting from the technical progress xAI has made in model performance.
Despite the noise, xAI has released several models that outperform benchmarks from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google DeepMind.
Babuschkin was already a known name in AI
Before co-founding xAI, Babuschkin worked at DeepMind, where he helped create AlphaStar, the first AI to defeat elite StarCraft players. He also held a researcher role at OpenAI in the early years leading up to ChatGPT.
At xAI, he led engineering and infrastructure development, including the now-famous Memphis supercomputer project. Built in under three months, the facility raised eyebrows in the industry for its speed — and concerns among environmental groups for the temporary gas turbines used to power it.
What Babuschkin says he learned from Musk
In his goodbye note, Babuschkin praised Elon Musk for teaching him two lessons he says will stick for life:
- Dig into technical problems personally, even at the highest level
- Move fast and act with relentless urgency
He compared his exit to a proud parent watching their kid leave for college — bittersweet, but necessary.
What happens next for xAI and its co-founder
The timing of Babuschkin’s exit could signal deeper challenges inside the company. xAI is still trying to shake off its reputation for controversy, and with one of its founding engineers gone, questions will grow louder about leadership and direction.
Babuschkin’s next move could be just as interesting. If his new firm truly backs long-term, safety-focused AI, it may serve as a quiet rebuke to some of the choices xAI has made.
A company moves on. A founder moves forward. What he builds next might speak louder than what he left behind.
