TLDR: OpenAI has hired Mike Liberatore, previously the Chief Financial Officer at Elon Musk’s xAI, as its new Business Finance Officer. Liberatore, who spent only three months at xAI, will now oversee billions in AI infrastructure spending at OpenAI, reporting to CFO Sarah Friar. This move is expected to intensify the ongoing rivalry between OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Elon Musk.
OpenAI, a prominent leader in generative artificial intelligence, has announced the appointment of Mike Liberatore, formerly the Chief Financial Officer of Elon Musk’s xAI, as its new Business Finance Officer. Liberatore commenced his role at OpenAI on Tuesday, September 16, 2025, according to sources familiar with the matter. In his new capacity, Liberatore will be responsible for overseeing billions of dollars in AI infrastructure spending, a critical area for OpenAI’s ambitious growth plans. He will report directly to OpenAI’s Chief Financial Officer, Sarah Friar, and is also expected to collaborate with co-founder Greg Brockman’s team, which manages contracts and capital for the company’s extensive computing needs.
Liberatore’s tenure at xAI was notably brief, lasting only three months after joining the company earlier this year. During his time at xAI, he was involved in significant fundraising efforts, including a reported $5 billion debt sale and a $5 billion equity raise, partly backed by SpaceX. He also played a role in approving data center expansion plans, such as those in Memphis, Tennessee. His abrupt departure from xAI in July, as reported by The Wall Street Journal, leaves a crucial vacancy at Musk’s AI venture, which has been aggressively raising capital to expand its own AI infrastructure, including data center projects and computing chips.
This high-profile hire is anticipated to further fuel the intense rivalry between OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Elon Musk. Musk, who co-founded OpenAI a decade ago with Altman before launching his competing startup xAI, has been embroiled in a legal dispute with OpenAI. He has filed two lawsuits, alleging that OpenAI has deviated from its founding non-profit principles and seeking to block the company’s restructuring into a more conventional for-profit business.
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Before his brief stint at xAI, Liberatore held senior finance positions at several notable technology companies, including Airbnb, SquareTrade, eBay, and PayPal. His move to OpenAI coincides with significant structural changes within the company, which recently announced that its non-profit division would be ‘paired’ with a stake in its public benefit corporation (PBC), valued at over $100 billion. OpenAI also signed a memorandum of understanding with Microsoft to transition its for-profit arm into a PBC, a change initially announced in May.
