xAI CFO leaves after six months amid executive exodus
Anthony Armstrong, appointed xAI CFO in October 2025, left Elon Musk's AI firm after about six months, The Information reported Thursday citing two sources familiar. Armstrong, a former banker who advised Musk on his $44 billion Twitter buyout, oversaw finances for xAI and social media platform X. He reported to Bret Johnsen, longtime SpaceX CFO who became top finance executive after SpaceX acquired xAI in a blockbuster merger finalized early February. xAI did not immediately respond to Reuters comment request.
Armstrong's exit fits a string of high-level resignations shaking xAI leadership. He replaced Mike Liberatore, prior xAI CFO who left mid-2025 after clashes with Musk's inner circle before joining OpenAI. Armstrong also took over from Mahmoud Reza Banki, outgoing X CFO and strategy head, per the Financial Times.
Turnover extends beyond finance. By late March, all 11 original xAI cofounders except Musk had departed. A February 2026 wave saw cofounders Yuhuai "Tony" Wu and Jimmy Ba leave with at least eight other engineers. In an all-hands meeting, Musk said the firm restructured past 1,000 employees, implying internal decisions over poaching.
The departure hits at a sensitive time. SpaceX's February 2 xAI acquisition valued the combined entity at $1.25 trillion, SpaceX at $1 trillion and xAI at $250 billion, the largest corporate merger ever. Structured as stock swap, xAI investors got 0.143 SpaceX shares per xAI share.
SpaceX eyes a hotly anticipated IPO that could value it up to $1.75 trillion, raising about $75 billion. It recently told bankers it plans big retail investor allocation and a June event for 1,500 of them. Losing the executive integrating xAI and X finances adds uncertainty ahead of what could rank among history's largest IPOs.
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