OpenAI’s data center chief Chris Malone has become the fourth senior executive to leave the artificial intelligence company in recent weeks, departing ahead of a planned 2027 initial public offering.
Malone, who joined OpenAI in March 2025 after leading data-center strategy at Meta, was co-head of a technical engineering team focused on data-center infrastructure. His departure follows those of Chief Revenue Officer Denise Dresser, Chief Operating Officer Brad Lightcap, and Fidji Simo, second-in-command to CEO Sam Altman.
The executive turnover coincides with OpenAI’s reorganization of its infrastructure group, implemented earlier in 2026. Greg Brockman, president and longtime collaborator with Altman, retains oversight of the broader team. Sachin Katti, a vice president, now leads the infrastructure unit, with Uday Ruddarraju elevated to chief technology officer of computing capacity in July. Ruddarraju reports to Brockman, alongside Brent Mayo, who was hired from Elon Musk’s xAI earlier this year to manage computing projects.
OpenAI’s infrastructure push is central to its growth strategy. The company now projects spending $750 billion on computing power through 2030, up from a prior estimate of $600 billion. Its Stargate joint venture with Oracle and SoftBank aims to scale AI data-center capacity, while a 10-gigawatt lease in Ohio—backed by a $105 billion guarantee from Nvidia—is expected to come online in phases, with the first stage slated for 2028.
The departures and reorganizations follow reports last month that OpenAI’s compute spending estimate had risen, highlighting the scale of its infrastructure ambitions as it prepares for a public listing.
