Elon Musk appoints former Morgan Stanley banker as CFO for xAI, X

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Elon Musk has picked Anthony Armstrong, a banker who previously worked at Morgan Stanley, to serve as the finance head for his artificial intelligence company xAI. The move represents another major change in the leadership team across Musk’s various business ventures.

Armstrong, who helped guide the purchase of Twitter, has become one of Musk’s trusted advisors over recent years. He even joined Musk during his stint working with the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, in Washington.

The new finance boss will oversee money matters for both xAI and the social media site X, people with knowledge of the situation told Financial Times. Back in March, Musk combined X and xAI into one entity worth $113 billion.

This leadership switch at xAI happens as Musk deals with a wave of high-level staff leaving his companies. In July, Linda Yaccarino stepped down from the lead role at X. During the summer months, xAI also lost its legal chief Robert Keele and its previous money manager Mike Liberatore.

Armstrong started working in the xAI role a few weeks ago and officially took the finance chief title just days ago, according to one person familiar with the arrangement. His account on X now shows an xAI symbol next to his name, indicating he works for the firm.

Betting big on artificial intelligence

Musk has increased his commitment to artificial intelligence, working quickly to create advanced technology that can go up against companies like OpenAI and Google’s DeepMind. He has spent heavily on the expensive equipment needed to support these goals.

xAI stakeholders say the company has been in talks about raising more money in a deal that would put its worth at roughly $200 billion. However, these investors noted the deal has not been completed yet.

Armstrong faces the challenge of getting the social media business back on solid financial ground. Many advertisers left after Musk loosened the rules about what content gets removed and told marketers who did not like his methods to “go f*ck” themselves.

During his time at Morgan Stanley, Armstrong ran the worldwide technology deals team. He was among those Musk brought in to help complete the $44 billion Twitter purchase. Morgan Stanley also provided money for that deal. Armstrong and Musk developed a close working relationship while that transaction was being worked out, people said.

From government service back to business

Armstrong recently worked for the Trump White House as a top advisor to the Office of Personnel Management, while Musk pushed his DOGE spending reduction plans. He stopped working for the government during the summer after Trump and Musk had disagreements.

Armstrong takes over from Liberatore, who switched to OpenAI after just three months on the job. Liberatore left after having disputes with people close to Musk about how the company should be organized and aggressive financial goals, people aware of the situation reportedly said.

Armstrong will also handle the responsibilities of Mahmoud Reza Banki, who is departing as X’s finance chief after holding the position for under a year, three people familiar with the matter said. Banki did not share any comments about his departure.

With xAI continuing to develop its Grok chatbot and expand its operations, Armstrong will need to balance the financial demands of building cutting-edge AI technology while working to stabilize X’s advertising business. The challenge ahead involves managing two distinct companies with very different revenue models under one combined structure.

Cryptopolitan noted, the appointment comes as SpaceX has committed to investing $2 billion in xAI as part of a larger funding effort, showing the deep connections between Musk’s various business interests.

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