According to TechPowerUp, Intel is losing Vice President of Data Center AI Product Management Saurabh Kulkarni to rival AMD, with his last day reportedly being this Friday. Kulkarni joined Intel just over two years ago and oversaw product management across AI systems, GPUs, and silicon design within the data center group. He previously defined Intel’s AI systems strategy under Chief Technology and AI Officer Sachin Katti, including work on silicon photonics interconnects for GPU scalability. Anil Nanduri, VP of AI Go-To-Market, will step in to lead the AI product management organization. This follows February’s departure of Justin Hotard, who previously led Intel’s Data Center and AI division before becoming Nokia’s CEO.
The talent bleed continues
This isn’t just one executive leaving – it’s becoming a pattern. Kulkarni makes at least the third major AI leadership departure from Intel this year, following Justin Hotard and several longtime engineers including Ronak Singhal and Rob Bruckner. And here’s the thing: Kulkarni isn’t some fresh-faced newcomer. He came to Intel with serious credentials from Graphcore, Lucata, and six years at Microsoft leading Azure’s cloud and AI infrastructure work.
So what’s driving this talent exodus? Basically, Intel is in the middle of a massive restructuring that’s affecting about 15% of its core workforce. New CEO Lip-Bu Tan is trying to realign the AI and data center divisions after weaker-than-expected Gaudi accelerator revenue. Meanwhile, AMD is projecting their AI accelerator business could reach tens of billions in annual revenue by 2027. When you’re working on cutting-edge industrial computing hardware like AI accelerators and data center systems, you need top talent – and right now, AMD seems to be where the action is.
AMD’s accelerating momentum
AMD isn’t just hiring Intel executives for fun – they’re building serious momentum. CEO Lisa Su just reiterated their projection of tens of billions in AI accelerator revenue by 2027. They’ve scored major design wins, including with OpenAI for their Instinct GPU lineup. When you combine that with landing experienced executives who understand Intel’s playbook and weaknesses? That’s a powerful combination.
Meanwhile, Intel keeps having to reshuffle leadership while trying to compete in a market that’s moving at lightning speed. Anil Nanduri stepping in to lead AI product management makes sense – he’s been there since 1996 – but constantly changing leadership creates instability. And in the fast-moving AI hardware space, stability matters. Companies deploying industrial computing solutions need reliable roadmaps and consistent execution, whether they’re using standard industrial panel PCs or cutting-edge AI accelerators.
The bigger picture
What we’re seeing here is a classic tech industry talent shift. When one company stumbles and another gains momentum, executives follow the opportunity. AMD’s AI business is growing while Intel’s is restructuring. It’s not complicated.
But here’s what worries me: losing product management leadership right when you’re trying to compete in a red-hot market? That’s tough. Product managers define strategy, understand customer needs, and drive roadmaps. When that leadership keeps changing, everything slows down. And in AI hardware, slowing down isn’t an option when your competitors are moving at warp speed.
