OpenAI has hired Mike Liberatore, former finance chief at rival Elon Musk's xAI, as business finance officer, CNBC reported.

Liberatore, who left xAI in July after just three months on the job, was involved in xAI's recent funding round of $10 billion in June.

Liberatore will report to CFO Sarah Friar.

The appointment comes amid intense rivalry between OpenAI's Sam Altman and Musk.

Last month, xAI and X, Musk's social media platform, filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and Apple, accusing them of monopolistic practices.

The lawsuit was a build up to the long drawn dispute between Musk and Altman.

Musk was once a co-founder and co-chair of OpenAI but fell out with the AI startup to roll out his own AI division. Last year, Musk sued Open AI and its co-founders Altman and Greg Brockman, and its affiliated entities, for breaching the contract to stay non-profit.