xAI names former Morgan Stanley banker Anthony Armstrong as CFO

Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company, xAI, has appointed Anthony Armstrong, a former Morgan Stanley banker, as its new chief financial officer, according to a report from the Financial Times citing anonymous sources.

Armstrong, who previously provided financial advice to Musk during the Twitter acquisition, will oversee financial operations for both xAI and X after their merger in April, the report states. He has been working with xAI for several weeks and has just been named CFO, noted the FT.

xAI has been without a CFO since the exit of former finance chief Mike Liberatore in July. Armstrong’s hiring comes at a time when several key executives have departed from both xAI and X.

In August, xAI’s general counsel, Robert Keele, left after over a year in the position. Senior lawyer Raghu Rao also exited around the same time, and co-founder Igor Babuschkin announced his departure to launch a venture capital firm focused on AI safety research. Linda Yaccarino, who was the CEO of X, also resigned in July.

Armstrong will succeed Mahmoud Reza Banki, the current CFO of X, who is also departing from the organization, as per the FT.

xAI has not yet responded to requests for comment.