Sachin Katti Exits Intel to Shape OpenAI’s Future

Katti, an IIT Bombay graduate, steps down from Intel’s helm to focus on infrastructure development at OpenAI.

Intel Corp. has announced that Sachin Katti, its Chief Technology and AI Officer, has left the company to join OpenAI. Katti will take on a critical role at OpenAI to focus on the development of the infrastructure necessary to power artificial general intelligence (AGI) research. 

Katti, who was promoted earlier this year to lead Intel’s AI efforts, had previously served as an adjunct professor at Stanford University and co-founded Kumu Networks. His decision to leave Intel marks a shift for the semiconductor giant, which has struggled to compete in the rapidly growing AI market, particularly against Nvidia, the market leader in AI chips.

Sachin Katti’s Role at OpenAI

At OpenAI, Katti will work closely with co-founder Sam Altman and President Greg Brockman to design and build the company’s AI infrastructure. In a social media post, Greg Brockman expressed his excitement about Katti joining the team, saying he was "incredibly excited" to work together on shaping OpenAI's next-generation AI systems.

Katti himself expressed his gratitude for his time at Intel, stating, 

"Very grateful for the tremendous opportunity and experience at Intel over the last four years leading networking, edge computing, and AI."

Intel’s AI Strategy Moving Forward

Katti’s exit coincides with Intel’s restructured approach to the AI chip market, which has included a recent overhaul of its data center AI strategy under CEO Lip-Bu Tan. Intel had hoped its Gaudi chips would meet a modest $500 million revenue target last year, but it fell short, prompting the shift. Intel recently unveiled its 160GB, energy-efficient data center GPU, marking a new annual release cadence as part of the company’s revised AI strategy.

Despite these setbacks, Intel remains committed to its AI goals. It said;

"AI remains one of Intel’s highest strategic priorities, and we are focused on executing our technology and product road map across emerging AI workloads."

Overall, Katti’s departure is just one example of the intense competition for AI talent. OpenAI has been steadily ramping up its team of experts, poaching some of the best minds from tech companies like Intel. Additionally, Katti’s decision to join OpenAI underscores the growing importance of infrastructure in scaling AGI capabilities.