OpenAI has brought in a major industry figure to bolster its artificial intelligence ambitions. Intel’s top AI executive, Sachin Katti, has departed the semiconductor giant to join OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, in a move that underscores the rising convergence between AI software and custom hardware innovation.

Katti will take on a critical role in designing and building OpenAI’s compute infrastructure, which forms the backbone of the company’s artificial general intelligence (AGI) research. OpenAI President Greg Brockman announced the appointment on X (formerly Twitter), stating that Katti will help power OpenAI’s long-term mission to develop systems that can think and learn more like humans.

OpenAI, already one of the largest consumers of high-end AI chips, is ramping up efforts to create its own hardware solutions to meet growing computing demands. The addition of Katti—who blends deep academic expertise with real-world chip design experience—signals a strategic pivot toward building a more self-sufficient technology stack capable of supporting increasingly complex AI workloads.

Intel confirmed Katti’s departure, noting that CEO Lip-Bu Tan will now personally oversee the company’s AI and advanced technology divisions. “AI remains one of Intel’s highest strategic priorities,” the company said in a statement, reaffirming its commitment to executing on a roadmap tailored for emerging AI workloads.

Katti’s transition comes at a pivotal moment for both companies. For Intel, it’s another significant leadership change amid its ongoing transformation under Tan. The company has been working to reclaim its leadership in high-performance computing while facing intense competition from Nvidia, whose GPUs have become the industry standard for training large-scale AI models such as ChatGPT.

For OpenAI, Katti’s arrival represents a decisive step in deepening its hardware capabilities—a move that could redefine how future AI models are developed and scaled. His blend of academic insight and industry experience positions him to guide OpenAI’s infrastructure strategy at a time when computing power is becoming the key differentiator in AI advancement.

Before his stint at Intel, Katti spent nearly 15 years at Stanford University, where he was recognized for his contributions to networking and distributed computing research. He joined Intel four years ago to lead its networking division and was later promoted to Chief Technology and AI Officer in April when Intel revamped its leadership structure.

Meanwhile, under Tan’s leadership, Intel has been reenergizing its leadership ranks, promoting internal talent and bringing in external expertise. Recent appointments include former Arm executive Kevork Kechichian, who now leads Intel’s data center business, and Naga Chandrasekaran, who has been given broader responsibilities in the foundry services division.

Katti’s move highlights a broader trend across the AI industry—the race to integrate hardware and AI innovation more closely than ever before. As OpenAI accelerates toward building human-like intelligence, having a leader like Katti at the helm of infrastructure could mark a transformative chapter in the company’s evolution.