Following last week's announcement of the merger between xAI and SpaceX, the combined entity—which also includes social media platform X—has reportedly reached a valuation of $1.25 trillion, marking the largest merger in history. However, a small number of xAI employees, including two co-founders, have abruptly left the company, posting lengthy resignation announcements online. Some have also indicated plans to launch their own AI ventures.

Co-founder Wu Yuhai (Tony) announced his departure on X, stating, "It's time to start my next chapter." Fellow co-founder Jimmy Ba posted a similar message later the same day, saying it was "time to recalibrate his gradient on the overall landscape." These exits mean that only half of the original 12 co-founders remain at xAI.

These developments come amid shifts in the merged company's future strategy. Elon Musk recently outlined plans involving "space-based AI" data centers and the vertical integration of "AI, rockets, space-based internet, direct-to-mobile communications, and the world's leading real-time information and free speech platform." Reports also indicate that Musk discussed ambitions to build AI satellite factories and even cities on the Moon during an internal xAI meeting.

On Wednesday, Musk posted on X that "xAI was restructured a few days ago to increase execution velocity," acknowledging that this process "unfortunately required parting ways with some people." He subsequently called for more applicants to join the company. He also released a 45-minute recording of an internal all-hands meeting where these changes were announced.

"We are organizing the company to be more effective at this scale," Musk stated during the meeting. He added that the company will now be divided into four primary application areas: Grok Main and Voice, Coding, Imagine (for images and video), and Macrohard. Musk described Macrohard as aiming to "achieve a full digital simulation of the entire company."