Intel’s top artificial intelligence executive, Sachin Katti, has left the chip maker to join OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPIT. Katti will play a key role in developing the infrastructure that supports OpenAI’s efforts to build AI systems capable of thinking and learning like humans. Greg Brockman, president of OpenAI, announced Cutty’s appointment at The company is currently one of the largest consumers of high-end AI chips and is looking to build its own hardware to meet growing computing needs.

Intel confirmed Katti’s departure and said that CEO Lip-Boo Tan would personally take charge of the company’s AI and advanced technology divisions. “AI remains one of Intel’s top strategic priorities,” the company said, adding that it is focused on executing its roadmap for emerging AI workloads.

Katti’s move comes at a time when both Intel and OpenAI are at important stages in their journey. For Intel, this is another leadership change during its ongoing transition under Tan. For OpenAI, this is a deeper push into the hardware side of artificial intelligence, an area that could change the development of future models like ChatGPT.

Katti joined Intel about four years ago and led the networking division before taking over AI operations earlier this year. He was promoted to chief technology and AI officer in April when Intel reorganized its leadership structure. Prior to his industry career, Katti spent nearly 15 years teaching and researching at Stanford University.

Intel, once a dominant name in computer processors, is struggling to keep up with rivals like Nvidia in the race for high-performance AI chips. Its CPUs are still used in AI servers, but Nvidia’s GPUs remain the preferred choice for training large-scale models like ChatGPT. Katti’s exit highlights how Intel is facing challenges in retaining top talent while trying to regain its footing in the rapidly growing AI market.

Under Tan’s leadership, Intel is reshuffling its top team to bring new energy to its AI and manufacturing business. He recently promoted several executives internally and also appointed former Arm executive Kevork Kechichian to lead Intel’s data center business. Another senior leader, Naga Chandrasekaran, has been given broader responsibilities to strengthen Intel’s foundry services.

For OpenAI, bringing in an experienced leader like Katti could be a big advantage. His background in both academia and chip design makes him well suited to help create the next layer of computing power needed for OpenAI’s growing ecosystem of models and applications.

As OpenAI moves to train more powerful systems, the need for advanced infrastructure has become critical. Now with Katti, the company is preparing for the next phase of its journey, moving beyond software innovation and into the complex world of hardware that will make human-like AI possible.