OpenAI Hires Former xAI CFO for Executive Role

Sam Altman’s company’s finances will now be overseen by Mike Liberatore. Previously, he worked as Chief Financial Officer at Elon Musk’s xAI.

Liberatore left xAI in July after working there for three months. CNDS television channel, the first to report the news, clarified that Mike will assume his new duties as early as September. Previously, Liberatore worked at Airbnb and also helped xAI secure $5 billion in investments.

Liberatore’s appointment at OpenAI comes against the backdrop of competition between the companies and the struggle to attract talented specialists in the field of AI. For example, Elon Musk — incidentally, a former co-founder of OpenAI — filed a lawsuit last year against the company and its CEO Sam Altman for departing from the company’s original mission of serving humanity. In April, OpenAI filed a countersuit against Musk, accusing him of harassment.

Earlier, xAI also filed a lawsuit against former engineer Sechen Li, accusing him of stealing data and passing it on to direct competitors — OpenAI. Li continued his work there after leaving Musk’s company; now, instead of Grok, he is training ChatGPT. In July 2024, even before officially resigning from xAI, Li accepted an offer from OpenAI. In its lawsuit, Musk’s startup noted that Li admitted to stealing data. Later, company experts also found other files on his devices that Li had not disclosed. The company is seeking to prohibit him from working at OpenAI as well as to recover damages.

On September 3, the court granted the claims and temporarily prohibited Li from training the chatbot and discussing topics related to AI functions and capabilities at his new workplace. The restriction remains in effect until xAI confirms the complete deletion of all confidential data in his possession. The next hearing is scheduled for October 7.