Elon Musk's AI startup xAI recently experienced a personnel change. The company's co-founder and Chinese-American AI scientist Greg Yang announced on the social media platform X that he has officially resigned from his current position due to being diagnosed with Lyme disease and will now serve as an informal advisor to the company.

In his statement, Yang mentioned that he likely contracted Lyme disease years ago, but due to intense work during the development of xAI, his immune system was compromised, leading to the eventual outbreak of symptoms. Although he no longer remembers when he was bitten by a tick, his health condition forced him to prioritize recovery. It is known that Lyme disease is a bacterial illness transmitted through tick bites, and if not treated promptly, it can cause long-term damage to the nervous system, heart, and joints.

As one of the core founding members of xAI, Yang has an outstanding academic background. He was born in Hunan, China, then studied in the United States, earning his undergraduate and master's degrees in mathematics from Harvard University, where he studied under renowned mathematician Shing-Tung Yau. Before joining xAI, he worked as a researcher at Microsoft Research, focusing on the foundational theories of AI.

Notably, Yang's departure is not the only major talent loss at xAI recently. According to records, two other co-founders, Igor Babuschkin and Christian Szegedy, had already left in 2025. In the context of fierce competition in the AI industry, the frequent changes in Elon Musk's top technical team have drawn widespread attention. In the future, Yang will continue to provide technical support to xAI behind the scenes as an informal advisor.

Key Points:

  • 🦟 Resignation due to illness: Co-founder of xAI Greg Yang announced his resignation after being diagnosed with Lyme disease, stating that his high-intensity work weakened his immunity, causing the illness to break out.

  • 🎓 Distinguished background: Yang, who studied under Shing-Tung Yau, is a mathematical genius from Harvard. He previously worked as a researcher at Microsoft and was one of the core founding members of xAI when it was established in 2023.

  • 📉 Talent loss: Following Babuschkin and Szegedy, Yang has become the third co-founder to leave xAI recently, indicating changes are taking place in the team's core structure.