{"id":3516,"date":"2025-08-08T16:17:13","date_gmt":"2025-08-08T16:17:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/08\/who-is-uday-ruddarraju-indian-origin-engineer-who-quit-elon-musks-xai-to-join-openai-tech-news\/"},"modified":"2025-08-08T16:17:13","modified_gmt":"2025-08-08T16:17:13","slug":"who-is-uday-ruddarraju-indian-origin-engineer-who-quit-elon-musks-xai-to-join-openai-tech-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/08\/who-is-uday-ruddarraju-indian-origin-engineer-who-quit-elon-musks-xai-to-join-openai-tech-news\/","title":{"rendered":"Who Is Uday Ruddarraju? Indian-Origin Engineer Who Quit Elon Musk&#8217;s xAI\u00a0To\u00a0Join\u00a0OpenAI | Tech News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"story-9436819\">\n<p><span class=\"jsx-730caffcddfd709\">Last Updated:<\/span><time class=\"jsx-730caffcddfd709\">July 12, 2025, 19:24 IST<\/time><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"asubttl-9436819\" class=\"jsx-4625396a04d15488 jsx-4150292824 asubttl-schema\">Ruddarraju, head of infrastructure engineering at Elon Musk\u2019s xAI, resigned after a year. He built Colossus, a supercomputer with 250,000 GPUs, and trained Grok 3<\/h2>\n<div class=\"jsx-45a692afa6f47900 artsharwrp\">\n<div id=\"artshare\" class=\"jsx-45a692afa6f47900 artshare\">\n<div class=\"jsx-45a692afa6f47900 stickdiv\">\n<div class=\"jsx-45a692afa6f47900 deskwrapstkdiv\">\n<div class=\"jsx-45a692afa6f47900 fontchange\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images.news18.com\/dlxczavtqcctuei\/news18\/static\/images\/english\/font.svg\" height=\"30px\" width=\"30px\" alt=\"font\" class=\"jsx-45a692afa6f47900 lazyload\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<figure class=\"jsx-4625396a04d15488 jsx-4150292824 amimg\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Uday Ruddarraju, the Indian\u2011origin head of infrastructure engineering at Elon Musk\u2019s AI startup xAI. (Image via X\/@udayruddarraju)\" title=\"Uday Ruddarraju, the Indian\u2011origin head of infrastructure engineering at Elon Musk\u2019s AI startup xAI. (Image via X\/@udayruddarraju)\" src=\"https:\/\/images.news18.com\/ibnlive\/uploads\/2021\/07\/1627283897_news18_logo-1200x800.jpg?impolicy=website&amp;width=400&amp;height=225\" loading=\"eager\" fetchpriority=\"high\" class=\"jsx-4625396a04d15488 jsx-4150292824\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Uday Ruddarraju, the Indian\u2011origin head of infrastructure engineering at Elon Musk\u2019s AI startup xAI. (Image via X\/@udayruddarraju)<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p id=\"0\" class=\"story_para_0\">Uday Ruddarraju, the Indian\u2011origin head of infrastructure engineering at Elon Musk\u2019s AI startup xAI, has announced his resignation, marking the end of a landmark year in which he helped build one of the world\u2019s most powerful AI systems.<\/p>\n<p id=\"1\" class=\"story_para_1\">At xAI, Ruddarraju spearheaded the creation of Colossus, a supercomputer housing over 250,000 GPUs\u2014one of the largest such systems ever built. He also led the training of Grok 3, the company\u2019s latest AI model, overseeing the largest pre\u2011training run known to date across 100,000 GPUs.<\/p>\n<p id=\"2\" class=\"story_para_2\"><strong>Who Is Uday Ruddarraju?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p id=\"3\" class=\"story_para_3\">Uday Ruddarraju completed a master\u2019s degree in computer science at the University of Minnesota before taking up engineering roles at eBay and Robinhood.<\/p>\n<p id=\"4\" class=\"story_para_4\">In June 2024, he joined xAI and X (formerly Twitter) as Head of Infrastructure Engineering. His remit was vast\u2014covering compute, networking, storage, data platforms, production systems, research tools, and data\u2011centre back\u2011office operations.<\/p>\n<p id=\"5\" class=\"story_para_5\"><strong>Architect Of Colossus And Grok 3<\/strong><\/p>\n<p id=\"6\" class=\"story_para_6\">At xAI, his role included building and operating large-scale AI systems, modernising core infrastructure for both xAI and X to boost reliability and developer productivity, streamlining CI\/CD pipelines for faster deployment, and debugging performance issues to ensure stable, long-duration training cycles.<\/p>\n<p id=\"7\" class=\"story_para_7\">On 8 July, Ruddarraju announced his departure from xAI through posts on X and LinkedIn. Reflecting on his time at the company, he described the experience as \u201cunforgettable&#8221; and confirmed that his last day had already passed.<\/p>\n<div class=\"twtiframe\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">After an unforgettable ride, I\u2019ve decided to move on from <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/xai?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow\">@xai<\/a> and yesterday was my last day.When I first joined, I thought everyone was absolutely nuts for thinking we could deploy 100K GPUs in 4 months, especially without a fully functioning site. Watching us go and double\u2026<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Uday Ruddarraju (@udayruddarraju) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/udayruddarraju\/status\/1942606426569883773?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow\">July 8, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<p id=\"8\" class=\"story_para_8\">\u201cWhen I first joined, I thought everyone was absolutely nuts for thinking we could deploy 100K GPUs in 4 months, especially without a fully functioning site. Watching us go and double that and most importantly successfully train Grok 3 made me incredibly proud\u2026 and very happy to be wrong,&#8221; he wrote.<\/p>\n<p id=\"9\" class=\"story_para_9\">Ruddarraju also noted that building Colossus and training Grok 3 were among the highlights of his career and moments he would always remember. \u201cSpecial thanks to everyone on the infrastructure team who met impossible expectations and the entire research team for your partnership throughout. You\u2019re the best! I am certain building Colossus and training Grok 3 are definitely highlights of my career I will remember forever.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p id=\"10\" class=\"story_para_10\">In his message, Ruddarraju also referenced Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, saying he was right in his praise of Elon Musk and his teams. He described them as \u201csingular in what they can achieve&#8221; and expressed gratitude for having played a small part in shaping the future of AI infrastructure from the inside. He ended his note by hinting at future plans, saying he was \u201cexcited for what\u2019s next.&#8221;<\/p>\n<div class=\"jsx-95088aad1b3c53cd atawrap\">\n<div class=\"jsx-95088aad1b3c53cd atadetailwrp\">\n<div class=\"jsx-95088aad1b3c53cd ataname\"><span class=\"jsx-95088aad1b3c53cd atthumb\"><\/p>\n<figure class=\"jsx-95088aad1b3c53cd\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"authorimg\" src=\"data:image\/jpeg;base64,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\" class=\"jsx-95088aad1b3c53cd\"\/><\/figure>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"jsx-95088aad1b3c53cd attitle\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.news18.com\/byline\/news-desk-17918.html\" class=\"jsx-95088aad1b3c53cd atamail\">News Desk<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, the Desk d&#8230;<span class=\"jsx-95088aad1b3c53cd aurpdebtn\">Read More<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, the Desk d&#8230;<!-- --> <span class=\"jsx-95088aad1b3c53cd aurpdebtn\">Read More<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"jsx-4625396a04d15488 jsx-4150292824 artcta\"><span data-olk-copy-source=\"MessageBody\">News18 Tech delivers the latest technology updates, including phone launches, gadget reviews, AI advancements, and more. Stay informed with breaking tech <a href=\"https:\/\/www.news18.com\/news\/\">news<\/a>, expert insights, and trends from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.news18.com\/india\/\">India<\/a> and around the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.news18.com\/world\/\">world<\/a>.\u00a0 Also Download the <a href=\"https:\/\/onelink.to\/eng-article-eop\">News18 App<\/a>\u00a0to stay updated!<\/span><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"jsx-4625396a04d15488 jsx-4150292824 coral-count-custom\">view comments<\/span><\/p>\n<ul class=\"jsx-4625396a04d15488 jsx-4150292824 atbtlink fp\"><span>First Published:<\/span><\/ul>\n<div class=\"jsx-4625396a04d15488 jsx-4150292824 brdcrmb\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.news18.com\/\">News<\/a>  <a href=\"https:\/\/www.news18.com\/tech\/\">tech<\/a>  <span class=\"brdout\"> Who Is Uday Ruddarraju? Indian-Origin Engineer Who Quit Elon Musk&#8217;s xAI\u00a0To\u00a0Join\u00a0OpenAI<\/span><\/div>\n<div id=\"coral-wrap\" class=\"jsx-9278cad478d6a6dc \">\n<div class=\"jsx-9278cad478d6a6dc coral-cont\">\n<div class=\"jsx-9278cad478d6a6dc coltoptxt\">Disclaimer: Comments reflect users\u2019 views, not News18\u2019s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.news18.com\/disclaimer\/\" class=\"jsx-9278cad478d6a6dc\">Terms of Use<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.news18.com\/privacy_policy\/\" class=\"jsx-9278cad478d6a6dc\">Privacy Policy<\/a>.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span class=\"jsx-4625396a04d15488 jsx-4150292824 rmbtn news18_read_more\">Read More<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.news18.com\/tech\/who-is-uday-ruddarraju-indian-origin-engineer-who-quit-elon-musks-xai-to-join-openai-ws-kl-9436819.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Last Updated:July 12, 2025, 19:24 IST Ruddarraju, head of infrastructure engineering at Elon Musk\u2019s xAI, resigned after a year. He built Colossus, a supercomputer with 250,000 GPUs, and trained Grok 3 Uday Ruddarraju, the Indian\u2011origin head of infrastructure engineering at Elon Musk\u2019s AI startup xAI. (Image via X\/@udayruddarraju) Uday Ruddarraju, the Indian\u2011origin head of infrastructure&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3517,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3516","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tech"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3516","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3516"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3516\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3517"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3516"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3516"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3516"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}