OpenAI Data Center Chief Departs Amid Rapid Leadership Changes
Chris Malone, who led OpenAI's data center build-out, has left the company. This marks the second leadership change in the data center division within 18 months, highlighting ongoing shifts in the company's infrastructure strategy.
OpenAI has seen another executive departure, with Chris Malone, the head of the company's data center build-out, leaving last week. Malone was hired in March 2025 to oversee the company's massive "Stargate" data center project, a significant undertaking announced in conjunction with SoftBank and Oracle.
The exit comes at a critical juncture for OpenAI, which is heavily investing in computing infrastructure to support its rapidly growing AI services and research. The company recently raised its projected compute budget to approximately $750 billion through 2030. OpenAI has been shifting from leasing cloud capacity to owning its own infrastructure, with the Stargate project being a key part of this strategy, though the company is also leasing entire data center facilities.
Malone's departure follows an earlier reorganization where his reporting structure changed, moving him from reporting directly to President Greg Brockman to leading a technical engineering team. The frequent changes in leadership for the data center arm indicate potential instability or evolving strategic priorities in managing this crucial aspect of OpenAI's operations.
Malone's exit is one of several senior departures from OpenAI this year. Notably, the company has also seen its chief revenue officer, COO, and head of product and business step down, signaling a period of significant transition within the organization.