xAI pauses hiring for Grok training specialists
Elon Musk's xAI has halted recruitment for professionals tasked with training its Grok chatbot, according to people familiar with the company's operations. The pause affects positions the company calls "AI tutors" - accountants, finance experts, scientists, and comedians hired to teach Grok specialized skills.
The hiring freeze stems partly from xAI's human resources department being overwhelmed and unable to process new candidates efficiently, the people said. The pause is temporary, and xAI could resume hiring later.
A different approach to AI training
Since January, xAI had pursued a strategy distinct from rivals. Rather than rely primarily on third-party contractors, the company directly recruited specialists to improve Grok's responses across domains like taxes, finance, and humor.
That approach required building out a sizable internal team. xAI's human data team now includes hundreds of AI tutors in the U.S. and other markets.
Staffing turbulence and departures
The hiring pause follows months of instability on the data team. xAI laid off a number of AI tutors in the fall, primarily generalists, then shifted strategy to pursue more specialists for data-labeling work.
A second round of layoffs occurred in early March across multiple teams. Jack Schwaiger, who led the medicine, legal, and STEM training teams, departed in April. Jeffrey Weichsel, who ran the finance training team, left after more than a year.
Diego Pasini, a recent high school graduate who has been at xAI for 18 months, runs the human data team. He now reports to Matthew Monson, a SpaceX Starlink executive.
Context: xAI's recent changes
xAI merged with SpaceX four months ago and has worked to rebuild operations and increase revenue before the rocket company's expected public listing. The AI division has specifically recruited bankers and private credit specialists to improve Grok's finance capabilities for Wall Street clients.
xAI did not respond to requests for comment.
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