OpenAI Hires Former xAI CFO, Intensifying Competition Between Altman and Musk

Jinse Finance reported, citing CNBC, that OpenAI has hired Mike Liberatore, the former finance chief of Elon Musk’s xAI, as the commercial finance officer of the artificial intelligence startup, responsible for overseeing its large-scale infrastructure spending. A company spokesperson stated that Liberatore left xAI in July this year after serving only three months and officially joined OpenAI this Tuesday. He will report to Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar and collaborate with Greg Brockman’s team, which manages the contracts and capital operations behind OpenAI’s compute strategy. This personnel appointment marks the latest escalation in the rivalry between OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Musk. The two co-founded the nonprofit research lab OpenAI in 2015, but as the company transformed into a fast-growing commercial entity primarily backed by Microsoft, they have publicly split and become fierce competitors in recent years.