Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence startup, xAI Corp., has brought on Robert Keele as its new legal chief ahead of a significant $6 billion fundraising effort aimed at challenging OpenAI. Keele, who joined xAI in early May, revealed his new role on his LinkedIn profile. Prior to joining xAI, Keele served as general counsel and compliance chief for Airbus SE’s Silicon Valley incubation center Acubed.
Musk’s xAI operates the Grok chatbot, which he has promoted as a competitor to OpenAI’s ChatGPT. The company announced the successful closure of a Series B financing round on May 26, attracting investments from notable venture capital firms such as Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia Capital, and Saudi Arabia’s Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal. For more details on the financing, see xAI’s announcement.
In recent months, xAI has engaged in a competitive talent recruitment drive against OpenAI, with Musk previously increasing compensation at Tesla to counter poaching efforts. Musk, who co-founded OpenAI, has also initiated legal actions against the company and its CEO, Sam Altman, earlier this year. Further information on Musk’s legal strategies can be found here.
Keele’s diverse background includes a stint as head of legal and compliance at Elroy Air Inc., a pilotless aircraft startup, and earlier roles at the law firms Simpson Thacher & Bartlett and Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe. His eclectic experiences range from plumbing and music to working as an insurance agent and startup executive, all while traveling to over 70 countries.
This unconventional résumé might have aligned well with Musk’s preference for legal professionals who possess an entrepreneurial mindset. Keele’s track record of handling complex legal, compliance, and policy matters, particularly in the AI sector, has seemingly positioned him as an ideal candidate to support xAI’s ambitious goals. Additional insights into Musk’s inclination for entrepreneurial legal professionals are available in this report.
As Keele embarks on this new role at xAI, the company looks to make a meaningful impact on the future of humanity through its advancements in artificial intelligence. For more comprehensive coverage of this development, visit the full article here.