Intel CEO to oversee its AI efforts after executive departs for OpenAI

Written by: Max A. Cherney and Stephen Nellis

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) -Intel said on Monday that Chief Executive Officer Lip-Bu Tan will oversee the chipmaker’s artificial intelligence efforts after the company’s chief technology officer left for maker ChatGPT. OpenAI.

Sachin Katti, who has led Intel’s artificial intelligence efforts since a management restructuring at the chipmaker in January, said on social media site X that he has joined OpenAI.

“We thank Sachin for his contributions and wish him the best. Lip-Bu will lead the Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Technologies Groups, working closely with the team,” Intel said in a statement. he said.

“AI remains one of Intel’s highest strategic priorities, and we are focused on applying our technology and product roadmap to emerging AI workloads,” the company added.

At X, Katti will “design and build our computing infrastructure that will power our (artificial general intelligence) research and scale its applications to the benefit of everyone,” OpenAI President Greg Brockman said.

OpenAI did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Since Tan took over in March, several top executives have left Intel and attempted a comeback at the embattled chipmaker. ‌Intel has struggled to attract a large customer for its contract manufacturing business or foundry.

While the company’s central processors are used in AI server systems (on a smaller scale than mainstream AI chips), Intel has struggled to produce a data center AI chip that could rival silicon designed by Nvidia and manufactured by Taiwan’s TSMC.

Katti joined Intel about four years ago and later worked in the networking group headed by former CEO Pat Gelsinger. Tan promoted Katti to chief technology officer and chief artificial intelligence officer in April after flattening the company’s leadership structure.

Katti was previously a Stanford professor for nearly 15 years.

Tan promoted some managers and expanded roles. Naga Chandrasekaran, who runs Intel’s manufacturing subsidiary, was given more responsibility for working with external contract manufacturing customers.

Tan has also hired new executives from outside the company, such as former Arm executive Kevork Kechichian who runs the company’s data center unit.

(Reporting by Stephen Nellis, Jeffrey Dastin and Max ‌Cherney in San Francisco; Editing by Jamie Freed)