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

OpenAI is changing who runs its infrastructure, again. Sachin Katti, the executive who arrived from Intel in November 2025 to lead the company’s large-scale data center projects, is stepping down from his operational role. He isn’t leaving entirely. Katti will move into an advisory position after November 15, 2026. 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. Who takes the wheel Uday Ruddarraju will now lead OpenAI’s infrastructure and compute businesses. 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. 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. In practical terms, one person will be responsible for both the buildings and the machin...