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Sachin Katti, Intel’s Chief Technology and AI Officer, has left the company to join OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT. Intel announced that its CEO, Lip-Bu Tan, will personally oversee the company's AI and Advanced Technologies Groups. His move marks a big change in the tech industry, as both Intel and OpenAI compete to lead in artificial intelligence (AI) development.
Katti had served around four years at Intel, rising to the role of Chief Technology and AI Officer earlier this year. His move to OpenAI will see him leading the design and build of compute infrastructure that supports advanced AI models and artificial general intelligence (AGI).
Intel described the change in leadership by thanking Katti for his contributions and reaffirmed that AI remains one of its highest strategic priorities. Meanwhile, OpenAI President Greg Brockman posted a public welcome, saying he is “incredibly excited to work with him on designing and building our compute infrastructure.”
The firm faces strong competition in the AI hardware market from players such as NVIDIA Corporation and AMD, and has yet to deliver a compelling data-centre AI chip. The leadership departure shows a challenge for Intel as it pushes to catch up in the AI hardware race.
For OpenAI, the hire marks a strategic boost to its infrastructure ambitions. Securing senior talent with hardware and networking experience suggests OpenAI intends to deepen its control over the compute layer, beyond algorithmic software alone. Katti’s background at Stanford and in edge and networking tech aligns with this direction.
Industry observers note that this signals a broader trend: AI software organisations increasingly invest in custom compute infrastructure, reducing reliance on external chip suppliers. Katti’s shift from Intel to OpenAI exemplifies that shift. The executive brain-drain at Intel may raise questions about its internal momentum.
Intel will now be managed with Tan stepping in directly to lead its AI push. Tan, who became CEO in March, has already initiated broad restructuring and leadership changes to accelerate the firm’s turnaround. His direct oversight signals the importance of the AI effort and the urgency the company attaches to its hardware strategy.
In short, the departure of Intel’s AI chief to a leading AI lab marks both a key strategic moment for the firms involved and a clear signal of how compute infrastructure is increasingly central in the evolving AI ecosystem. For Intel, the talent shift is a test of its rebuilding plan. For OpenAI, it is a step toward internalising its hardware capabilities. The industry will watch closely how this impacts the next phase of AI hardware and compute platform competition.
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