The Financial Times reported that Elon Musk has appointed a former Morgan Stanley banker, Anthony Armstrong, as the new Chief Financial Officer of his artificial intelligence group xAI.
People familiar with the matter indicated that Armstrong will head the finance operations of both xAI and social media site X (formerly known as Twitter).
The newspaper has stated that the newspaper reported that veteran dealmaker Armstrong had been collaborating with xAI over several weeks and was recently appointed as CFO. xAI and X did not respond promptly to a request by Reuters to comment.
Musk released xAI to compete with the push of AI by Big Tech in 2023, claiming that the leaders of the industry are overly restrictive in censorship and have inadequate safety protocols.
Armstrong will also have the task of redirecting the social media business to financial stability after an exodus of advertisers when Musk loosened the financial moderation standards.
Armstrong, the global head of tech M&A at Morgan Stanley, was among the people Musk had engaged to lead the acquisition of Twitter in 2022, which was worth $44 billion.
According to the report, Armstrong and Musk formed a close relationship when the Morgan Stanley-funded deal was being formed.
Armstrong assisted Musk in managing the Office of Personnel Management earlier this year in Washington in his brief stint in the Department of Government Efficiency.
Armstrong will be replacing Mike Liberatore as the finance chief of xAI. FT reported that the artificial intelligence start-up is leaving Liberatore this year after disputes with key members of Musk’s inner circle on corporate structure and aggressive financial goals.
Armstrong has an X account, which now includes xAI logo beside his name, signifying his newly acquired status as an employee.
X CEO Linda Yaccarino resigned in the summer in July, Liberatore of xAI, and the general counsel Robert Keele also departed.
FT report indicated that X’s Finance Chief, Mahmoud Reza Banki, left the position in a period of less than a year.
The report added that xAI has been negotiating a new round of funding that could potentially value the company at around $200 billion, although investors reported that the deal has not been closed yet.
