Robert Keele announced his resignation as xAI’s head of legal this week, stating a desire to spend more time with his children. In his statement, Keele mentioned differing worldviews with Elon Musk, who has not commented on the departure.
“I love my two toddlers and don’t get to see them enough,” Keele wrote on X and LinkedIn. He described his time at the AI startup as “incredible” and working with Musk as “the adventure of a lifetime,” but realized he couldn’t manage both his family and his job.
His announcement garnered support from xAI colleagues and parents on social media. Keele initially joined the company in May 2024 after starting a short-lived legal firm. At that time, he expressed excitement about leading xAI’s legal team.
Keele’s tenure coincided with xAI’s significant milestones, including a $6 billion Series B funding round, backed by investors like Andreessen Horowitz and Sequoia Capital, valuing the company at $24 billion. The company also acquired X, Musk’s social media platform, earlier this year.
Previously, Keele served as head of legal at Elroy Air and general counsel at Airbus’s Silicon Valley innovation center.
Lily Lim is set to replace Keele. Before becoming a lawyer, she was a rocket scientist at NASA and joined xAI as a privacy and IP specialist.
Keele’s exit is part of a pattern of executive turnover within Musk’s enterprises. Recently, X CEO Linda Yaccarino and several Tesla executives also resigned. Musk has high expectations for long working hours from employees, including sleeping at the office.
Some newer companies, like AI coding startup Cognition, are adopting similar work expectations. Cognition’s CEO recently communicated to employees his disbelief in work-life balance.