OpenAI infrastructure chief Sachin Katti departs, Uday Ruddarraju to lead compute

Sachin Katti is leaving his role as OpenAI's infrastructure lead after roughly a year, with Uday Ruddarraju set to assume the position and head the company's compute organization. Katti announced the move on LinkedIn on Wednesday, stating he decided to build something new. His final day at the company is November 15, after which he will continue to serve as an advisor. An OpenAI spokesperson confirmed that Ruddarraju, currently the CTO of compute, will replace Katti to lead the overall compute organization.

The compute organization is central to OpenAI's strategy, tasked with developing the infrastructure roadmap necessary to train and serve its models. The company is targeting roughly $600 billion in total compute spend by 2030. To support this expansion, OpenAI is involved in multi-billion-dollar data center projects in Ohio, Texas, and Georgia. Katti noted in his departure post that building AI infrastructure at this scale provided him with a view into the compute world, ranging from silicon and systems to datacenters, energy, supply chains, and the economics of AI.

The leadership change occurs amid growing tension regarding AI infrastructure in the United States. Backlash against data centers has intensified over concerns involving noise, electricity rates, and water consumption. This issue has become a flashpoint in upcoming midterm elections, with both Republican and Democratic candidates campaigning against such facilities.

Ruddarraju joined OpenAI in July of last year. Prior to that, he served as head of infrastructure engineering at xAI, Elon Musk's artificial intelligence company, which was acquired by SpaceX earlier this year. Katti expressed confidence in his successor in a statement, saying he is proud of what the team has built and looks forward to his next venture.

Katti's exit is the latest in a series of executive departures at OpenAI this year. In July, Fidji Simo, the company's product and business chief, moved into an advisory role to focus on recovery from a severe exacerbation of a chronic illness. The following month, Brad Lightcap and Denise Dresser, who served as revenue chief, also left the company.

OpenAI President Greg Brockman told CNBC that he does not view the wave of departures as atypical for a young company. He noted that because OpenAI is in the spotlight, every departure receives more scrutiny than it would otherwise. Brockman emphasized that while there have been different eras with different leaders, he and Sam Altman remain constants, making the company stronger through resilience and diversity.