Devendra Singh Chaplot, a noted robotics researcher and co-founder of Mistral AI, is set to join xAI and SpaceX to collaborate directly with Elon Musk on the development of Grok model training. Chaplot announced his new position on March 14 via X, with Musk subsequently welcoming him to xAI.
This marks xAI’s third significant talent acquisition within a week, following the recent additions of engineers Andrew Milich and Jason Ginsberg, who previously helped scale Cursor to a $2 billion revenue run rate. The rapid hiring reflects Musk’s strategic push to strengthen xAI’s talent pool, acknowledging earlier shortcomings in its recruitment process.
Chaplot, whose academic credentials are impressive, is recognized as one of the leading AI researchers outside major U.S. labs. His career began with an All India Rank of 25 in the IIT-JEE entrance examination in 2010, alongside an International Rank of 5 in the International Mathematics Olympiad. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and Engineering from IIT Bombay and later obtained a PhD in Machine Learning from Carnegie Mellon University, focusing on autonomous navigation.
His competitive success at CMU further solidified his reputation in the field. He won notable challenges, including the CVPR 2019 PointNav Challenge, the CVPR 2020 ObjectNav Challenge, and the NeurIPS 2022 Rearrangement Habitat Challenge. Recognized for his contributions, Chaplot received the prestigious Facebook Fellowship Award, aimed at researchers tackling high-risk AI problems.
Before his venture into startups, Chaplot spent time at Facebook AI Research, where he developed machine learning systems for vision, navigation, and robotics. Following this, he joined Samsung Electronics in South Korea, focusing on advanced AI and robotics initiatives. His career trajectory took a notable turn when he co-founded Mistral AI, where he significantly contributed to the training of models such as Mistral 7B and Mixtral 8x7B, establishing the company as a key player in Europe’s AI landscape.
Chaplot’s expertise aligns directly with the goals of xAI and SpaceX, particularly in the context of merging physical and digital intelligence. Musk has emphasized the ambition to integrate these two domains on an unprecedented scale, with SpaceX supplying the hardware and infrastructure and xAI focusing on developing the underlying models. Chaplot’s experience in embodied AI and large language model training positions him as a critical asset in this endeavor.
His focus on Grok model training complements the skill sets of Milich and Ginsberg, who are working on product engineering. This strategic alignment suggests a well-rounded approach to rebuild Grok from its foundational model layer and develop a robust product pipeline for practical applications. Together, these hires illustrate a cohesive strategy to enhance xAI’s offerings amid a restructuring phase.
This restructuring process has been characterized by a swift turnover, with several of xAI’s original co-founders departing. Musk likens this period of reinvention to the early developmental cycles at Tesla, framing it as a mechanism for acceleration rather than a sign of dysfunction. The success of this approach will ultimately depend on the future outputs of the revamped xAI.
As xAI continues to evolve, the integration of talents like Chaplot is seen as essential for navigating the complexities of AI development and application. The intersection of his extensive research background with Musk’s vision may pave the way for groundbreaking advancements in AI and robotics.
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