OpenAI sees data center head depart amid strategic shift

OpenAI is experiencing a period of leadership turnover and strategic shifts. Chris Malone, the head of data centers, has departed the company after 17 months. His responsibilities have been redistributed among three executives and an unnamed CTO, with reporting lines moving from Greg Brockman to Vice President Sachin Katti.

This departure coincides with a strategic pivot for OpenAI, which appears to be moving away from constructing its own data centers in favor of leasing complete infrastructure and pursuing acquisitions. This includes a planned $30 billion data center project in Georgia.

Separately, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has addressed criticisms regarding the environmental footprint of artificial intelligence. Responding to concerns about water usage, Altman argued that the water consumption per ChatGPT query is minimal—approximately 0.32 milliliters—and compared it to the high water demands of agricultural products like almonds. He maintained that most modern data centers consume water levels comparable to large office buildings.