Igor Babuschkin, a co-founder of xAI, the AI venture initiated by Elon Musk, has announced his departure from the company to create an investment firm dedicated to AI safety research.
His new enterprise, Babuschkin Ventures, will focus on supporting research and startups in the AI safety sector.
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“Today was my last day at xAI, the company that I helped start with Elon Musk in 2023,” Babuschkin wrote on X, which is owned by xAI.
“I still remember the day I first met Elon, we talked for hours about AI and what the future might hold. We both felt that a new AI company with a different kind of mission was needed. Building AI that advances humanity has been my lifelong dream,” the post read.
In reply, Musk wrote: “Thanks for helping build @xAI! We wouldn’t be here without you.”
Founded in 2023, xAI was established to provide an alternative to the prevailing AI initiatives of major tech companies.
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By GlobalDataBabuschkin, who has a background with Google’s DeepMind and OpenAI, reflected on his time at xAI, noting the initial rush to develop infrastructure and models.
He stated that he was responsible for creating “many of the foundational tools” necessary for launching and managing training jobs, later taking on a role overseeing engineering across various projects related to infrastructure, product, and applied AI.
His exit follows the recent departure of xAI’s legal head, Robert Keele, and occurs amid growing competition in the AI landscape, with companies such as OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic significantly investing in the development and deployment of advanced AI systems.
Additionally, July 2025, saw the resignation of Linda Yaccarino, CEO of Musk-owned X, shortly after the platform was integrated into xAI.
Recently, Musk announced that xAI plans to take legal action against Apple, claiming the tech giant is violating antitrust laws by manipulating App Store rankings.
In a post on his social media platform X, Musk stated: “Apple is behaving in a manner that makes it impossible for any AI company besides OpenAI to reach #1 in the App Store, which is an unequivocal antitrust violation. xAI will take immediate legal action.”
