Only 2 of xAI's 11 original co-founders remain at the company. That's the backdrop for Elon Musk's latest hiring push, which just pulled two senior engineers from Cursor, the AI coding tool that hit $2 billion in annualized revenue.
Andrew Milich and Jason Ginsberg, both senior leaders at Cursor, have joined xAI and report directly to Musk. Their departures come as Cursor rides one of the fastest growth curves in AI - the company's coding assistant has become a daily tool for a huge number of developers.
The xAI Exodus
The co-founder departures are striking. Zihang Dai recently left, and Guodong Zhang is reportedly planning to follow. Before them, Toby Pohlen, Jimmy Ba, Tony Wu, and Greg Yang all departed. That leaves Manuel Kroiss and Ross Nordeen as the only original co-founders still at xAI.
Musk acknowledged the talent problem publicly, posting that "many talented people over the past few years were declined an offer or even an interview" at xAI, and that the company is now going back through its interview history to reach out to previously rejected candidates. That's an unusual admission from someone who typically projects confidence about his ventures.
Cursor's Loss
For Cursor, losing senior leaders to xAI is a real hit, though likely not fatal given the company's momentum. Cursor has carved out a strong position in AI-assisted coding, competing directly with GitHub Copilot and tools like Cody and Continue. Two departures won't derail a company at that revenue scale, but it signals that xAI is willing to pay whatever it takes to restock its engineering leadership.
The broader pattern here: AI talent remains the scarcest resource in tech, and companies are raiding each other aggressively. Musk is treating xAI's staffing problems the way he's approached other crises - throwing money and personal attention at recruitment while publicly acknowledging past mistakes.