By Stephen Nellis
(Reuters) – Intel Corp’s Raja M. Koduri, an executive vice president who oversaw the company’s efforts to break into the graphics chip market, is leaving the company at the end of March.
Chief Executive Pat Gelsinger announced the move in a tweet on Tuesday. Gelsinger said Koduri is leaving to start a new company focused on generative artificial intelligence for gaming, media and entertainment.
In a reply to Gelsinger on Twitter, Koduri confirmed the move and said he would share more about the startup company “in coming weeks.”
Koduri, a veteran of Advanced Micro Devices and Apple Inc , joined Intel five years ago. He was part of a wave of outsiders hired by Intel, which had been known in the chip industry for promoting executives from within, to rethink the company’s approach as it lost market share to rivals.
Koduri oversaw Intel’s efforts to develop chips that would compete with rivals like AMD and Nvidia Corp . Intel split that unit into two groups late last year amid a round of cost-cutting.
Gelsinger said that Randhir Thakur, who has overseen efforts to start manufacturing chips for outside customers, is also leaving at the end of March. Intel said Tuesday that Stuart Pann has been appointed to oversee that business.
(Reporting by Stephen Nellis in San Francisco; Editing by Chris Reese and Leslie Adler)
