OpenAI’s Data Center Chief Chris Malone Leaves the Company

OpenAI just lost a key executive overseeing one of its biggest challenges. Chris Malone, the company’s head of data centers, left last week amid an infrastructure leadership reshuffle.

The timing is notable. OpenAI is racing to secure enormous computing capacity while reshaping the team responsible for making that expansion happen.

OpenAI is changing its infrastructure playbook

Malone joined OpenAI in March 2025 after senior data center roles at Google and Meta. He arrived shortly after OpenAI announced Stargate, its massive infrastructure initiative with Oracle and SoftBank.

The Wall Street Journal first reported Malone’s departure. Bloomberg later confirmed his exit through an OpenAI spokesperson.

According to the WSJ, OpenAI recently reorganized its infrastructure leadership. The changes reportedly moved Malone away from the central infrastructure effort.

The company has also appointed Sachin Katti to oversee computing capacity. Adrian Caulfield and Uday Ruddarraju are involved in the reorganized leadership structure.

That shift comes as OpenAI increasingly looks toward leasing complete data center facilities. The strategy could reduce some construction responsibilities while helping the company secure capacity faster.

The infrastructure race is getting even bigger

Malone previously argued that OpenAI needed more direct control over data center construction. In 2025, he said the company believed self-building was important for scaling.

That makes his departure particularly interesting as OpenAI adjusts its infrastructure approach. It does not necessarily mean Stargate is being abandoned.

OpenAI continues developing multiple sites and expanding relationships with infrastructure and cloud partners. The company is also pursuing massive amounts of computing capacity for future AI systems.

Bloomberg reports that OpenAI’s infrastructure spending could reach roughly $750 billion through 2030. That figure shows why even small leadership changes are attracting attention.

The departure also lands during a broader period of executive turnover at OpenAI. Brad Lightcap, Fidji Simo, and other senior figures have recently announced departures or transitions.

In other OpenAI news, Sam Altman recently admitted that AI adoption is moving slower than expected, even as the company keeps expanding ChatGPT with new features. One of those improvements affects ChatGPT Scheduled Tasks, which now gives users a better way to automate recurring prompts and react to updates from connected services.