OpenAI's Head of Data Centers Chris Malone Departs Amid Infrastructure Restructuring
Chris Malone, OpenAI's head of data centers, has left the company after approximately 17 months in the role. His departure coincides with a restructuring of OpenAI's infrastructure team to support the scale and speed of its operations. Malone was a key figure leading OpenAI's massive compute infrastructure expansion, including the $500 billion Stargate Project. His exit highlights ongoing executive turnover at OpenAI during a critical phase of building next-generation AI infrastructure. Before joining OpenAI in March 2025, Malone accumulated extensive infrastructure experience as a Distinguished Engineer at Meta and Google. OpenAI stated that despite the restructuring, they retain a strong, experienced data center team with clear leadership to execute their plans.
## BACKGROUND
The Stargate Project is a major joint venture between OpenAI, SoftBank, Oracle, and investment firm MGX, aiming to invest up to $500 billion by 2029 to build AI infrastructure in the United States. Managing such infrastructure requires highly specialized expertise in data center architecture, hardware R&D, power, and cooling systems.