OpenAI’s Sachin Katti steps back from infrastructure role, stays on as advisor

What happened

Sachin Katti, the executive who arrived from Intel in November 2025 to lead the company’s large-scale data center (a building full of computers that runs online services) projects, is stepping down from his operational role. Leadership changes at OpenAI highlight the challenges and financial pressures of scaling AI infrastructure, impacting future strategic directions. OpenAI is an artificial intelligence company based in San Francisco.

14, 2026 OpenAI is changing who runs its infrastructure, again. That means the person who helped steer projects including Stargate will soon be offering guidance rather than signing off on construction plans.

The timing matters because OpenAI’s compute bill keeps getting bigger. The company’s projected spending on computing power now sits at approximately $750 billion through 2030.

He has served as the company’s CTO of Compute since July 2026. Before OpenAI, Ruddarraju was an executive at xAI, where he led infrastructure engineering efforts on xAI and SpaceX-related projects.

Advertisement Katti has expressed confidence in Ruddarraju’s leadership as the handoff takes shape. Ruddarraju’s mandate combines two areas, infrastructure and compute, under a single leader.