Intel has confirmed a significant personnel change in its key segment. Sachin Katti, former chief technology officer (CTO) and head of the AI group, is leaving the company to join OpenAI. This is a strategic transfer in the midst of a global war for talent specialising in artificial intelligence. At OpenAI, Katti is to be responsible for designing and building the computing infrastructure to support general artificial intelligence (AGI) research, reporting directly to CEO Greg Brockman.
For Intel, the timing of the departure is difficult. The company is busily trying to catch up with Nvidia (NVDA) in the lucrative data centre AI accelerator market. Although Intel’s processors are widely used in server systems, the company is still struggling to create a chip that can realistically compete with Nvidia’s dominant chips produced by TSMC. The loss of a key executive responsible for this strategy complicates the company’s efforts.
The duties of Katti, a former Stanford professor who has worked at Intel for about four years, will be taken over temporarily by Lip-Bu Tan. Tan, serves as CEO of Intel and is a veteran of the semiconductor industry (including former CEO of Cadence). Intel assures in an official announcement that AI remains “one of its highest strategic priorities” and the company is focused on executing its roadmap.
