Robert Keele Steps Down as xAI’s Legal Chief for Family Time Amidst Growing Trend of Executive Departures in Elon Musk’s Empire
In a recent announcement, Robert Keele, former head of legal at xAI, revealed his decision to step down after a tenure of over a year. Citing the desire for more time with his young children as the primary reason, Keele shared this news on both X and LinkedIn platforms.
Although he described his tenure at the AI startup as “incredible” and working alongside industry titan Elon Musk as the adventure of a lifetime, Keele acknowledged that balancing family commitments with professional responsibilities proved challenging.
Upon joining xAI in May 2024 as its inaugural legal head, Keele had recently concluded a brief tenure at his own fractional legal firm, Keele Law. In his initial announcement, he expressed excitement and gratitude for the opportunity, stating that he was “beyond stoked, and insanely lucky.”
xAI made waves in May 2024 with a colossal $6 billion Series B funding round, backed by influential investors such as Andreessen Horowitz and Sequoia Capital. This substantial investment propelled the company’s valuation to an impressive $24 billion. In March of this year, xAI further expanded its portfolio through the acquisition of X, Musk’s social media company, in a deal that initially valued xAI at $80 billion and X at $33 billion.
Before embarking on his entrepreneurial journey, Keele held positions as head of legal at autonomous aircraft manufacturer Elroy Air and general counsel at Airbus’s Silicon Valley innovation center.
Replacing Keele is Lily Lim, a seasoned lawyer with a unique background in space exploration. Prior to joining xAI in late 2024, she served as a rocket scientist at NASA, working on spacecraft navigation for the project mapping Venus’s surface. Subsequently, she honed her legal skills at various firms and companies, including ServiceNow, before joining xAI as a privacy and IP specialist.
Keele’s departure marks a pattern of executive turnover within Musk’s business empire. X CEO Linda Yaccarino departed recently, and Tesla has experienced several high-profile executive exits. Musk, who is known for advocating long work hours, often encouraging employees to sleep at the office, exemplified this attitude when he acquired X, previously Twitter.
Several emerging companies appear to emulate a similar ethos to maintain a competitive edge, including AI coding startup Cognition, which aims to reduce its team size aggressively. In fact, the CEO recently communicated to employees his skepticism towards work-life balance.
