Chris Malone, who served as OpenAI's head of data centers, departed the company last week, according to reports. Malone joined OpenAI in March 2025 and oversaw its data center operations. His departure comes as OpenAI prepares for a potential initial public offering (IPO) and continues to expand its computing infrastructure.
OpenAI confirmed Malone's exit and stated it had "recently reorganized our infrastructure organization to support the scale and pace of our work." The company added that it maintains a "strong, deeply experienced data center team in place, with clear leadership and the technical expertise to execute our plans." This reorganization earlier in 2026 involved Vice President Sachin Katti assuming oversight of the broader infrastructure team, reporting to President Greg Brockman. Malone and Adrian Caulfield had become co-heads of a data-center technical engineering team under this new structure.
Malone's departure is the latest in a series of high-profile executive exits from OpenAI. Earlier this month, Brad Lightcap, a longtime executive, announced his departure to pursue a new project. Denise Dresser, OpenAI's revenue head, also announced her exit this month after less than a year with the company. In July, Fidji Simo, who was the product and business chief, stepped down due to a chronic illness. Four other senior leaders also left OpenAI in April.
OpenAI President Greg Brockman addressed the executive turnover in an interview, stating that such exits are not "actually that atypical" for a company in the spotlight. He suggested that OpenAI's high public profile leads to greater scrutiny of every departure compared to other organizations.
Malone's tenure at OpenAI began shortly after the company unveiled its Stargate initiative, a joint venture with Oracle and SoftBank aimed at building large-scale AI data center capacity. This project targets securing 10 gigawatts of US AI infrastructure by 2029. OpenAI has also been evaluating additional locations for data centers and announced a 1.2-gigawatt data center lease with SoftBank in January. The company has not indicated that Malone's departure will affect its announced data center projects or partner agreements.
Before joining OpenAI in March 2025, Malone held positions as a distinguished engineer at Meta, where he led data center strategy, and as a distinguished engineer and senior director at Google. His expertise in data center infrastructure was central to OpenAI's ambitious plans for compute spending, which have been projected to reach roughly $600 billion by 2030, with some reports indicating a revised estimate of $750 billion through 2030.
The ongoing executive changes and infrastructure reorganization occur as OpenAI expands its compute ambitions and prepares for a prospective IPO, which Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar recently informed employees is targeted for 2027. Oracle, a key partner in OpenAI's Stargate venture, saw its shares edge lower following the news of Malone's departure, reflecting investor concerns about strategic continuity in the partnership.