Elon Musk's xAI co-founder is departing the organization - reasons behind his departure
Igor Babuschkin, co-founder of Elon Musk's AI startup xAI, has announced his departure to launch Babuschkin Ventures, a venture capital firm dedicated to AI safety research and investing in startups developing AI and agentic systems that advance humanity and unlock cosmic mysteries.
Babuschkin's departure from xAI, where he played a pivotal role in building the company from scratch in 2023, marks a significant shift in his focus towards artificial intelligence that is safe and beneficial to humanity. He reflected on his journey with Musk, recalling their extensive discussions about AI’s future and the mission to create a new kind of AI company with a unique mission.
Babuschkin Ventures will support AI safety research and startups aiming to develop advanced AI systems that meaningfully benefit humanity, emphasizing safety and broader scientific and societal progress. This focus contrasts with some controversies recently experienced by xAI's Grok chatbot, which has been under public scrutiny due to extremist and vulgar content issues.
Before co-founding xAI, Babuschkin worked at Google DeepMind and OpenAI. He brings a wealth of experience in AI development to his new venture, having taken on responsibility for large parts of the technology at xAI, including infrastructure, product, and applied AI projects. He also developed many of the basic tools that xAI needed to start and manage training runs.
Babuschkin learned valuable lessons from Musk in terms of a hands-on approach to problem-solving and urgency in execution. He reflected on these experiences in a post on X, where he also reminisced about the early days of xAI and the skepticism they faced from many who doubted the possibility of building a leading AI company from scratch in a short time.
Despite the controversies surrounding the Grok chatbot, Babuschkin's departure from xAI is not related to any scandals at the company. He left on good terms, praising Musk and the xAI team, who acknowledged Babuschkin’s crucial role in establishing the venture.
With Babuschkin Ventures, Babuschkin aims to create AI for the benefit of humanity, a goal that contrasts starkly with the Grok chatbot's recent antisemitic statements and AI-nude videos of celebrities. Babuschkin's new venture represents a strategic pivot from direct AI product development at xAI to an investment and research role emphasizing AI safety and long-term positive impact on humanity.
[1] Igor Babuschkin's post on X, August 2025. [2] xAI press release, August 2025. [3] Interview with Igor Babuschkin, August 2025. [4] TechCrunch, August 2025. [5] The Verge, August 2025.
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