Igor Babuschkin, a co-founder of Elon Musk’s AI startup xAI, has stepped down, according to his X post.

He said he is leaving xAI to launch Babuschkin Ventures, as he wants to continue on his mission to bring about AI that’s safe and beneficial to humanity.

Babuschkin Ventures supports AI safety research and backs startups in AI and agentic systems that advance humanity and unlock the mysteries of the universe, he added.

He did not give further details of his new venture.

Babuschkin had joined xAI in May 2023. Prior to joining xAI, Babuschkin worked at DeepMind and OpenAI.

Last week, xAI's legal lead, Robert Keele, left the company just over a year of taking over the role.

Last month, xAI raised $10 billion in debt and equity, as the competition to stay ahead in the AI race continues to get intense every second.

Last month, Elon Musk's AI startup also launched the newest version of its AI chatbot, Grok 4, after its previous versions went rogue with anti-Semitic remarks.