Uday Ruddarraju to lead OpenAI’s data centre and computing infrastructure operations
OpenAI has appointed Uday Ruddarraju to lead its data centre and computing infrastructure operations as Sachin Katti prepares to step down from the position in the coming weeks.
Ruddarraju will take responsibility for the computing resources and infrastructure required to develop, train and run OpenAI’s artificial intelligence (AI) models. Katti will continue working with the company in an advisory role.
Ruddarraju joined OpenAI in 2025 and has experience in cloud computing, infrastructure engineering and large-scale AI systems. An engineering graduate from Hyderabad, India, he has worked with companies such as eBay, Robinhood and Elon Musk’s xAI before taking on the leadership role at OpenAI.
His appointment comes as OpenAI continues to expand its data centre capacity and computing infrastructure to support the growing demand for advanced AI models.
Uday Ruddarraju’s education and career journey
Uday Ruddarraju started his studies at the Chaitanya Bharathi Institute of Technology (CBIT) in Hyderabad, India, in the field of computer science. Upon graduation from engineering school, he has completed a number of internships, such as a software engineering internship at Amazon.
Later he went to the United States to do a Master's in computer science at the University of Minnesota.
Ruddarraju was hired in 2013 by eBay as a software engineer focusing on cloud infrastructure and platform systems. In his five years of service, he rose to senior technical roles and became a technical lead. He joined Robinhood in 2018 as a staff software engineer and later became senior director of engineering and head of infrastructure.
He served almost six years in the financial technology company, providing team management and developing computer systems for the expanding business.
Ruddarraju has been appointed head of infrastructure engineering at AI company xAI, founded by Elon Musk, in 2024. There he served on large computing systems, designed to train and execute AI models like the one behind Grok. He joined OpenAI in July 2025 as head of compute and infrastructure, and was promoted to chief technology officer for compute in July 2026.
In his new role, Ruddarraju will oversee the data centre and computing infrastructure aspects of OpenAI, making sure the resources and projects are put in place to assist the company's growing AI goals.
What will Uday Ruddarraju do at OpenAI?
As the new leader of OpenAI’s data centre and computing infrastructure operations, Ruddarraju will oversee projects that support the company's AI development plans.
His responsibilities will include:
- Data centre expansion: Managing projects to increase the computing capacity required by OpenAI.
- Infrastructure engineering: Overseeing the systems and technical operations needed to train and run AI models.
- Computing resources: Helping ensure that OpenAI has sufficient computing power to develop and operate advanced AI systems.
- Commercial partnerships: Managing relationships with companies that support OpenAI’s infrastructure and data centre projects.
- Project coordination: Working with engineering, construction and technical teams to deliver infrastructure projects.
Ruddarraju will report to OpenAI President Greg Brockman.
His role will involve both technical responsibilities and commercial coordination as the company continues to invest in the infrastructure needed for its AI products and services.
Speaking to Bloomberg about the leadership transition, Ruddarraju indicated that he expected the handover to be smooth because he had already worked with OpenAI’s engineering, construction and technical teams. He also has experience working with executives from the company's partners, including Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang.
Sachin Katti to move to an advisory role at OpenAI
Sachin Katti will soon be relinquishing his current role as an infrastructure leader at OpenAI, in his case, during the next few weeks. But he will stay on as an adviser to the company.
Katti's journey with OpenAI began in November 2025, where she led various significant infrastructure projects at Intel. These ranged from an 8-gigawatt project with SB Energy and Nvidia in Ohio, to a data centre project in Georgia, which was designed and led by OpenAI.
Following the leadership change, OpenAI’s GPT-Infra initiative will come under Richard Ho, the company's chip chief. The effort involves leveraging OpenAI's AI models to enable advances in semiconductors and infrastructure.
The move is expected to enable Ruddarraju to play a bigger part in OpenAI's computing operations, infrastructure development and commercial partnerships.
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