OpenAI Infrastructure Lead Sachin Katti to Step Down as Uday Ruddarraju Takes Over Compute
Katti will transition to an advisory role on Nov. 15 after roughly a year leading infrastructure, as OpenAI targets $600 billion in compute spend by 2030.
OpenAI infrastructure lead Sachin Katti announced Wednesday that he is stepping down from his role after roughly a year with the artificial intelligence company, as first reported by CNBC Business (https://www.cnbc.com/2026/10/14/openais-sachin-katti-to-leave-infrastructure-role-stay-on-as-advisor.html). Katti will transition into an advisory role following his final day on Nov. 15.
Uday Ruddarraju, who serves as OpenAI's chief technology officer of compute, will take over leadership of the company's overall compute organization, according to an OpenAI spokesperson. Ruddarraju joined OpenAI in July of last year after previously leading infrastructure engineering at xAI, which SpaceX acquired earlier this year.
Katti announced his departure in a post on LinkedIn, stating that he decided to move on to build a new venture. Reflecting on his tenure, Katti wrote that managing AI infrastructure at scale provided insight across silicon, systems, data centers, energy, supply chains, financing, and AI economics, adding that he has full confidence in Ruddarraju to lead the team forward.
The compute division oversees OpenAI's infrastructure roadmap to secure the capacity needed to train and serve its artificial intelligence models. OpenAI is pursuing an estimated $600 billion in total compute spending by 2030, including multi-billion-dollar data center initiatives across Ohio, Texas, and Georgia.
The leadership transition arrives amid growing political and public scrutiny of data center expansion across the United States. Local opposition has mounted over facility noise, rising electricity rates, and municipal water consumption, turning data center development into a campaign issue for candidates from both major parties ahead of upcoming midterm elections.
Katti's exit marks the latest executive shift at OpenAI this year. In July, product and business chief Fidji Simo moved into an advisory role following an exacerbation of a chronic illness, while longtime executive Brad Lightcap and revenue chief Denise Dresser departed the company in August. In comments to CNBC Business at the time, OpenAI President Greg Brockman noted that executive turnover is normal for a young company and that he and Chief Executive Sam Altman remain constants anchoring the organization.
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