Igor Babuschkin recently revealed that he is departing from the venture he co-founded with Elon Musk to establish his own company dedicated to researching AI safety.
Babuschkin posted the news on X, which is owned by xAI, Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company.
“Today marked my last day at xAI, the organization I helped launch alongside Elon Musk back in 2023,” he shared. “I vividly recall the day I first met Elon. We engaged in lengthy discussions about AI and its potential future implications.”
Babuschkin expressed that through intense effort and determination, they managed to deploy advanced models faster than any other firm in history. During this time, he learned two invaluable insights from Musk.
1. Be fearless
“Don’t hesitate to dive into technical challenges personally,” he noted, highlighting how Musk collaborated directly with the team, even flying to data centers and working overnight to resolve issues.
2. Have a “maniacal” sense of urgency
“xAI operates at an insanely fast pace,” he mentioned. “Experts in the industry doubted our ability to build the Memphis supercluster in just 120 days, yet we were confident in achieving what seemed impossible.”
Today was my last day at xAI, the company that I helped start with Elon Musk in 2023. 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…
— Igor Babuschkin (@ibab) August 13, 2025
Musk replied to his post, offering thanks: “Thanks for helping build xAI! We wouldn’t be here without you.”
Join top CEOs, founders and operators at the Level Up conference to unlock strategies for scaling your business, boosting revenue and building sustainable success.
Igor Babuschkin announced this week that he is leaving the company he helped cofound with Elon Musk to start his own company focused on AI safety research.
Babuschkin posted the news on X, which is owned by xAI, Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company.
“Today was my last day at xAI, the company that I helped start with Elon Musk in 2023,” he wrote. “I still remember the day I first met Elon. We talked for hours about AI and what the future might hold.”
The rest of this article is locked.
Join Entrepreneur+ today for access.
