In Brief

Posted:

9:11 AM PDT · March 28, 2026

Image Credits:Krisztian Bocsi/Bloomberg / Getty Images

- Anthony Ha

Elon Musk’s last co-founder reportedly leaves xAI

Earlier this month, it looked like all but two of Elon Musk’s 11 co-founders at his AI startup xAI had departed the company. Now, according to Business Insider, the remaining two co-founders, Manuel Kroiss and Ross Nordeen, have left as well.

BI said on Wednesday that Kroiss had told people that he’s leaving xAI, then reported that Nordeen left the company on Friday.

Musk recently claimed xAI “was not built right [the] first time around,” so it’s now “being rebuilt from the foundations up.” The company was recently acquired by Musk’s SpaceX, bringing SpaceX, xAI, and X (formerly Twitter) together under one corporate umbrella, all as SpaceX is reportedly planning to go public.

Kroiss and Nordeen both reported directly to Musk, according to BI, with Kroiss leading the company’s pretraining team, while Nordeen was Musk’s “right-hand operator.” Nordeen reportedly came to xAI from Tesla, and was involved in planning major layoffs at Twitter after Musk acquired the company in 2022.

TechCrunch has reached out to xAI for comment.

Topics

AI, Elon Musk, manuel kroiss, ross nordeen, SpaceX, Startups, xAI

April 30

San Francisco, CA

StrictlyVC kicks off the year in SF. Get in the room for unfiltered fireside chats with industry leaders, insider VC insights, and high-value connections that actually move the needle. Tickets are limited.

Newsletters

Subscribe for the industry’s biggest tech news

TechCrunch Daily News

Every weekday and Sunday, you can get the best of TechCrunch’s coverage.

TechCrunch Mobility

TechCrunch Mobility is your destination for transportation news and insight.

Startups Weekly

Startups are the core of TechCrunch, so get our best coverage delivered weekly.

StrictlyVC

Provides movers and shakers with the info they need to start their day.

No newsletters selected.

By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice.

Apps

These iPad apps will make you wish you had more free time

- Aisha Malik

3 hours ago

Anthropic’s Claude popularity with paying consumers is skyrocketing

- Julie Bort

5 hours ago

Climate

What will power the grid in 2035? The race is wide open

- Tim De Chant

6 hours ago

Latest in AI

In Brief

Elon Musk’s last co-founder reportedly leaves xAI

- Anthony Ha

3 hours ago

Anthropic’s Claude popularity with paying consumers is skyrocketing

- Julie Bort

5 hours ago

In Brief

Why SoftBank’s new $40B loan points to a 2026 OpenAI IPO

- Marina Temkin

21 hours ago