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Leadership Shakeup Hits the XAI Team Training Grok

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A leadership shakeup is brewing within xAI’s data annotation team.

At least nine high-level employees appear to no longer be with the team. Their Slack accounts were deactivated over the weekend, according to screenshots seen by Business Insider.

The employees worked on the human data management team, which oversees the AI tutors who train Grok. Previously, the managerial ranks included around a dozen people, according to a review of LinkedIn profiles and workers with knowledge of the team. Several of the managers had posted Slack messages as recently as September 5.

One of the deactivated accounts was a member of the technical staff who oversaw the team’s managers, according to a screenshot seen by Business Insider. The employee had previously worked on Tesla’s Autopilot data annotation team.

A representative for xAI did not respond to a request for comment.

The data annotation team consists of more than 1,500 contract and full-time staff, a large portion of whom are AI tutors, according to a tally of the company’s internal Slack.

The company has also been scheduling one-on-one meetings with some employees, four workers said. In the meetings, workers have been asked to present their work and how they’ve added value to the company, the people said.

One worker told Business Insider that the meetings have created a “sense of panic.”

Unlike most AI companies, which often use third-party employment agencies, xAI hires many of its US tutors directly. This can provide the company with more control and privacy; it can also be more expensive.

XAI briefly outsourced some of its work to Scale AI, but ended the partnership earlier this year, Business Insider previously reported. XAI is also working with Mercor, a recruiting and data annotation services company. Mercor confirmed the arrangement but declined to comment.

The AI tutors play a crucial role in developing the company’s chatbot. They label, categorize, and contextualize raw data to teach Grok how to better understand the world. Though the team works in tandem with engineers, it uses a separate Slack, called TeachX, and has different email domains. Within TeachX, AI tutors are broken into specialized groups, including science, coding, and translation.

Earlier this year, the company planned to hire thousands of AI tutors, Business Insider previously reported. Since February, xAI has added around 700 workers to the data annotation team, according to a tally in the company’s Slack.

Musk’s AI company has nine roles listed for the data annotation team, including six AI tutor roles, with pay ranges between $35 and $80 per hour.

Do you work for xAI or have a tip? Contact this reporter via email at gkay@businessinsider.com or Signal at 248-894-6012. Use a personal email address, a nonwork device, and nonwork WiFi; here’s our guide to sharing information securely.





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AI is changing the startup scene. Will it help Tampa Bay?

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iCIMS Acquires AI Company Apli

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HOLMDEL, N.J., Sept. 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — iCIMS, the talent acquisition software provider trusted by the world’s leading brands, today announced its acquisition of Apli – a fast-growing, AI-powered recruitment automation innovator focused on the frontline hiring experience – to complement iCIMS’ enterprise AI talent-acquisition platform. Apli helps organizations attract, assess and hire frontline talent through advanced conversational AI.

With frontline workers representing approximately 80% of the global workforce —and many of those positions going unfilled—hiring managers are under intense pressure to hire quickly and efficiently. Apli powers multichannel, AI-powered candidate engagement, screening and assessments via mobile-friendly interfaces like text, WhatsApp and web chat. As a result, organizations can dramatically accelerate time-to-hire while improving candidate quality and experience. The company serves numerous leading multinational enterprises with over 10,000 frontline employees and has been recognized as one of Fast Company’s Top 10 Most Innovative Companies in Latin America, as well as a Future of Work leader by MIT’s Initiative on the Digital Economy.

Arrow customers share that the technology automates up to 90% of the frontline hiring process, enabling 10x more hires per recruiter, reducing time to fill by up to 75% and driving 40% lower turnover on average through smarter candidate matching. Apli enables customers to generate up to five times more qualified candidates on average for hourly roles compared to traditional career site application flows, per customer analysis, while reducing new hire turnover through more sophisticated assessments during the application process.

This strategic acquisition strengthens iCIMS’ existing AI market leadership in complex enterprise recruiting and hiring – and builds on its capabilities to support high-volume hiring at scale. By integrating Apli’s conversational AI and assessment tools directly into the iCIMS platform, iCIMS’ new Frontline AI solution will work in harmony with iCIMS Agents to automate even more of the recruiting process across all types of hiring. Through this acquisition, iCIMS will empower customers to deliver faster, easier and more conversational application experiences and assess candidate fit directly within the chat-based flow—resulting in more completed applications, better-fit hires and lower turnover.

“This acquisition accelerates our vision to harness the power of AI across the full spectrum of recruiting and hiring. Combining Apli’s AI-powered technology with iCIMS’ enterprise AI platform will drive more elevated and seamless experiences for recruiters, candidates and hiring managers,” said Jason Edelboim, CEO of iCIMS. “I’m also excited to welcome Apli’s talented team to iCIMS, where their deep expertise in data science and AI will help strengthen our growing investments and deliver faster innovation for our global customers.”

Once integrated, the combined solution, iCIMS Frontline AI – grounded in iCIMS’ certified responsible AI – will improve hiring speed, efficiency and quality while delivering a consumer-grade application and onboarding journey for critical frontline roles.

“This acquisition will usher in a new level of smart, responsible AI across the entire hiring journey,” said Eric Connors, Chief Product Officer at iCIMS. “Frontline workers are the foundation of industries like healthcare, hospitality, manufacturing and retail—but hiring for these roles at scale, while making the process of applying quick and easy for candidates, still presents a challenge for most enterprises. Apli directly addresses the pain points of frontline hiring and enables us to offer enhanced end-to-end capabilities—from corporate roles to high-volume hourly hiring—all within a single, unified platform.”

“Frontline hiring remains a massive, underserved opportunity,” added Vera Makarov and José María Pertusa, co-CEOs of Apli. “Joining forces with iCIMS allows us to bring our proven conversational hiring technology to new markets and help multinational employers reimagine frontline hiring with AI. We’re excited to scale with iCIMS, giving our customers the same seamless capabilities they’ve relied on in Latin America – now on a global stage.”

iCIMS will continue to serve Apli’s existing customers in Latin America, and iCIMS customers will have the option to add iCIMS Frontline AI, incorporating Apli’s conversational engagement and assessment tools directly into the core iCIMS experience.

About iCIMS, Inc.

iCIMS is a leading provider of talent acquisition technology that enables organizations everywhere to build winning workforces. For over 20 years, iCIMS has been at the forefront of talent acquisition transformation. iCIMS empowers thousands of organizations worldwide with the right tools to meet their evolving needs across the talent journey and drive business success. Its AI-powered hiring platform is designed to improve efficiency, cut recruiting costs, and build exceptional experiences for candidates and recruiters. For more information, visit www.icims.com.

Contact
Will DeMuria
Corporate Communications, iCIMS
[email protected]

SOURCE iCIMS, Inc.



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Small business revival could hinge on AI-driven tools

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Search funds and AI are helping legacy businesses modernise operations, compressing decades of growth into just a few months.

If AI is to matter in the economy, it must first matter to small businesses. Firms employ over 61 million people, nearly half the private workforce, yet most run on outdated technology. While smartphones update monthly, many small businesses still use systems built a decade ago.

Search fund entrepreneurs bridge this gap by upgrading established firms with modern tech. One deal turned a 50-person roadside assistance firm into Asurion, now a global tech-care provider. Others have scaled compliance firms into nationwide SaaS platforms.

Generative AI now accelerates these transformations, cutting work times by over 60% across supply chains, compliance, and document processing functions. Complex tasks can now be completed in hours, unlocking double-digit productivity gains and allowing small businesses to focus on growth.

Search funds are not the only path forward. AI consulting firms, tech studios, and AI-powered roll-up strategies bring enterprise-grade tools to family-run firms. For communities that have relied on traditional playbooks, decades of growth can be compressed into months.

The cost of AI has never been lower, and the opportunity is wide open. Once deployed at scale, AI could power a wave of productivity on Main Street, helping small businesses compete and strengthening the economy for half of their workforce.

Would you like to learn more about AI, tech, and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!



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