OpenAI has promoted Uday Ruddarraju to the newly framed role of CTO of Compute, according to Data Center Dynamics and The Times of India. The move comes roughly a year after he joined the company, having stepped down as Head of Infrastructure Engineering at Elon Musk's xAI.
Ruddarraju is described across reports as a Hyderabad-born, Indian-origin engineer who has risen through the ranks of America's AI infrastructure scene. The Times of India notes that his 2025 departure from xAI drew attention because he was among a group of senior infrastructure leaders who left Musk's company for OpenAI.
In his new position, Ruddarraju will oversee the systems that power OpenAI's models. According to the Financial Express, he aims to build "the world's largest AI compute footprint" and is actively hiring top talent to do it. Reporting from MSN adds that he has signaled bigger plans for the company's infrastructure and wants to strengthen OpenAI's ability to scale its models.
Compute — the vast pools of specialized chips and data-center capacity that train and run AI systems — has become one of the fiercest bottlenecks in the industry. The companies that can secure and efficiently manage the most computing power hold a decisive edge in how quickly and cheaply they can build ever-larger models.
Why it matters: Placing a dedicated compute chief at the top table, poached from a direct rival, underscores how central raw infrastructure has become to the race to lead artificial intelligence.