Following the departure of Chief Technology and AI Officer Sachin Katti to OpenAI, Intel Corporation has announced that its CEO Lip-Bu Tan will directly oversee the company’s AI and advanced technology operations. The leadership move underscores Intel’s renewed focus on accelerating innovation and execution in the face of intensifying global chip competition.

Tan, who took over as CEO earlier this year, is expected to play a hands-on role in refining Intel’s AI roadmap, spanning chip design, software optimisation, and infrastructure scalability. His oversight will also guide Intel’s integration of AI across its client, data centre, and edge portfolios, aiming to ensure the company remains a key player in powering next-generation AI workloads.

Industry observers note that this leadership realignment comes at a pivotal moment for Intel, as rivals like NVIDIA, AMD, and Google continue to push the boundaries of AI hardware. By bringing direct executive attention to the segment, Intel hopes to accelerate delivery of its Gaudi AI accelerators and reinforce its position as a foundational player in the global AI compute ecosystem.

The company reiterated its commitment to expanding AI-driven products and partnerships, including collaborations with enterprise clients and cloud providers to enhance performance, energy efficiency, and scalability.

With Tan at the helm of Intel’s AI strategy, analysts expect a more cohesive approach to product innovation and talent development — signalling that the company intends to remain central to the global race for AI infrastructure leadership.