In a mixture of a press launch and sequence of tweets from CEO Pat Gelsinger, Intel this afternoon has introduced a pair of serious company management adjustments on the firm, which is able to affect each their Intel Foundry Companies (IFS) and graphics/accelerator enterprise segments. In short, IFS is getting new management, whereas Intel GPU guru and chief architect Raja Koduri is leaving the corporate for brand new pastures.
At the beginning, Intel at this time is asserting in a press launch that they’ve promoted Stuart Pann to be the brand new senior VP and basic supervisor of Intel Foundry Companies. Pann replaces Dr. Randhir Thakur, who was IFS’s inaugural president. Thakur introduced late final yr that he was stepping down from the place and leaving Intel on the finish of March, so we’ve been anticipating Intel to nominate a brand new IFS head earlier than the month was out.
Pann, in flip, is a long-serving Intel worker with a historical past inside and out of doors of the corporate, most lately returning to Intel in 2021 to function senior VP, chief enterprise transformation officer and basic supervisor of Intel’s Company Planning Group. Intel credit him with being one of many chief organizers behind Intel’s IDM 2.0 technique – in addition to Intel’s inner foundry mannequin – which in flip are among the many major causes for establishing IFS.
Pann’s background is, broadly talking, on the enterprise facet of issues. whereas he holds an EE diploma, his time at Intel has been spent in enterprise administration and company planning, reasonably than working inside Intel’s fab group itself. This can be a notable change from Dr. Thakur, who had an intensive background in fab engineering earlier than transferring into his management function. With that stated, on condition that IFS’s success will hinge, partly, on having the ability to entice outdoors prospects (and never simply growing superior fab applied sciences throughout the firm), it’s not wholly stunning to see Intel appoint a extra business-experienced chief for the rising fab enterprise.
Intel Graphics Guru Raja Koduri Leaves for AI Software program Startup
Apart from Dr. Thakur’s beforehand organized departure from Intel, it seems the corporate will see one different main management change. As first revealed in a tweet from CEO Pat Gelsinger, Raja Koduri shall be leaving Intel on the finish of the month. A well known identify within the graphics enterprise for many years, Koduri has most lately been serving as a chief architect for Intel’s GPU/accelerator companies, and previous to that was the GM of Intel’s Accelerated Computing Techniques and Graphics Group (AXG).
Thanks @RajaXg in your many contributions to Intel tech & architecture-especially w/high-performance graphics that helped deliver 3 new product traces to market in ‘22. Wishing you success as you create a brand new software program co. round generative AI for gaming, media & leisure.
— Pat Gelsinger (@PGelsinger) March 21, 2023
Koduri joined Intel in 2017 (coming from AMD), and has been the cornerstone of Intel’s trendy efforts to develop its GPU and accelerator companies. Apart from the varied flavors of Intel’s Xe graphics structure and ensuing merchandise just like the Knowledge Heart GPU Max sequence (Ponte Vecchio) and Arc A-series video playing cards, Koduri has additionally overseen the simultaneous growth of Intel’s oneAPI software program stack, which is designed to supply a well-crafted software program growth platform for Intel’s GPUs whereas additionally unifying Intel’s total software program growth efforts behind a single, unified API and toolset (actually, one API).
Whereas Intel continues to be working to higher set up its footing throughout the GPU area, the AXG enterprise unit itself has undergone some adjustments, which in flip have impacted Koduri’s place throughout the firm. Koduri was the pinnacle of AXG up till December of 2022, when Intel introduced that it could be splitting up AXG into separate client and datacenter/AI teams, which in flip have been positioned below Intel’s Shopper Computing Group and Dataceter and AI Group respectively. Following that cut up, Koduri returned to serving as Intel’s chief architect for GPUs, accelerators, and their convergence with Intel’s conventional CPU merchandise.
In accordance with a tweet printed by Koduri in response to Gelsinger’s preliminary announcement, Raja has introduced that he shall be transferring on to a software program startup specializing in generative AI for gaming, media, and leisure. Koduri says that he “may have extra to share in coming weeks,” however at a excessive stage, this definitely seems like a superb match for somebody so steeped in to pc graphics and AI.
Thanks Pat and @intel for a lot of cherished reminiscences and unbelievable studying over the previous 5 years. Might be embarking on a brand new chapter in my life, doing a software program startup as famous beneath. May have extra to share in coming weeks. https://t.co/8DcnNdso3r
— Raja Koduri (Bali Makaradhwaja) (@RajaXg) March 21, 2023
Nonetheless, it is going to be fascinating to see what sort of affect this has on Intel’s GPU and accelerator efforts. Raja Koduri has been a driving power for Intel’s GPU efforts for the final 6 years, leaving a large impression on their efforts in each the patron and datacenter areas. Intel is about to have a chart-topping, exascale-class GPU-based supercomputer to their credit score with the almost completed Aurora system, and Intel’s discrete GPU shipments for customers are already inside closing distance of AMD’s. All of which come from initiatives overseen by Koduri.
On the identical time, nevertheless, Koduri’s departure comes at a turbulence for Intel’s GPU efforts. Apart from final yr’s reorganization, Intel cancelled Rialto Bridge, their Ponte Vecchio successor, earlier this month. That cancellation set again Intel’s knowledge heart GPU follow-up plans by about 2 years, as their subsequent product will now be Falcon Shores in 2025. So 2023 is proving to be a time of nice transition for Intel, each with reference to their product stack and their GPU management.
