Raja Koduri leaves Intel to found a game software company with generative artificial intelligence
What happened now? Raja Koduri, the man who left AMD five years ago to become Intel’s chief architect, is leaving the company to launch his own generative artificial intelligence software startup. Blue team boss Pat Gelsinger made the announcement on Twitter, thanking Koduri for his help in developing Intel’s high-performance graphics.
Taking a leave of absence as head of AMD’s Radeon Technologies group in September 2017, Koduri announced he was leaving the company a month later, noting that he felt the need to pursue his passion beyond hardware and explore broader solutions. Just 24 hours later, he joined Intel to become its chief architect, helping Chipzilla build its discreet Arc graphics cards. Koduri was named Executive Vice President in April 2022.
“Thank you @RajaXg for your great contributions to Intel technology and architecture, especially high performance graphics that helped bring 3 new product lines to market in 22. Wishing you all the best in building your new game, media and entertainment generative AI software company,” Gelsinger tweeted.
Thank you @RajaXg for major contributions to Intel technology and architecture, especially high performance graphics, which helped bring 3 new product lines to market in 22nd. We wish you success in starting your new software development company. around generative AI for games, media and entertainment.
— Pat Gelsinger (@PGelsinger) March 21, 2023
Arriving later than planned, the Arc series of graphics cards didn’t challenge Nvidia or AMD as Intel had hoped. But recently the company has reduced prices and introduced new drivers with improved performance.
Koduri was also responsible for other Intel projects, including the first blockchain accelerator.
Thanks Pat and @intel for many treasured memories and incredible learning over the past 5 years. I will start a new chapter in my life by running the software as given below. There will be more to share in the coming weeks. https://t.co/8DcnNdso3r
— Raja Koduri (Bali Makaradhwaja) (@RajaXg) March 21, 2023
After leaving Intel, Koduri will join the generative artificial intelligence revolution by founding his own software development company specializing in this field. He said Reuters that the as-yet-unnamed organization will create a new wave of generative AI tools that will run on Intel, AMD, and Apple chips, or even future RISC-V-based chips.
Koduri said that AIs that can generate images from text, like Midjourney 5, have a lot of potential when it comes to video games and visual effects. He explained that his company’s first product will be a service that will allow artists to easily use artificial intelligence tools to create images, no matter what device or platform they may be working on, without having to delve into code. These artists are “not techies. They are just confused by all this,” Koduri said.
Dr. Randhir Thakur, formerly head of Intel’s manufacturing division, is also leaving the company. He is currently replaced Stuart Pann, who will serve as senior vice president and general manager of Intel Foundry Services.
