Reid Hoffman Blasts xAI as 11 Founders Exit, Faults US Anthropic Model Ban

2 articles · Updated · Fortune · Jun 24

Hoffman called xAI a “complete train wreck,” saying all 11 original co-founders have left and the company is already on its third restart.
SpaceX’s June 12 IPO pitch leaned heavily on AI, but Hoffman said its Cursor acquisition and AI-infrastructure leasing show it is buying relevance rather than building core model capability.
Anthropic’s Fable and Mythos models were pulled under a June 11 US export-control order blocking foreign-national access after a reported jailbreak concern in Fable 5.
Hoffman said that response looked arbitrary and disproportionate, especially because Anthropic had flagged security issues itself while OpenAI was not hit with a similar penalty.
He argued Anthropic and OpenAI can both win in AI, while warning that unpredictable intervention adds a new investor risk ahead of Anthropic’s expected blockbuster IPO.

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Turmoil in AI: xAI’s $1.75 Trillion Shakeup, Anthropic’s US Ban, and the Battle for Global Tech Sovereignty

Overview

June 2026 was a turbulent month for the artificial intelligence industry, marked by deep-seated issues within xAI and an unprecedented US government ban on Anthropic's advanced models. All 11 non-Musk co-founders left xAI after its merger with SpaceX, raising doubts about the company's future and reshaping the competitive landscape. At the same time, the government’s action against Anthropic sparked crucial debates about AI governance and national sovereignty. These events highlighted the growing challenges and risks in the AI sector, emphasizing the urgent need for clear regulation and strategic adaptation.

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