Intel’s head of graphics, Raja Koduri, will leave the company and create his own startup

After five years of trying to make Intel a competitor to Nvidia and AMD in the field of discrete graphics for gamers, the head of the relevant division, Raja Koduri, is leaving the company. He will create his own startup in the field of generative AI.

Intel hired Koduri in 2017, and before that he worked at AMD. At that time, the company said it had decided to carve out a niche in the discrete graphics card market. AMD and Apple also poached Koduri from each other at one time.

At the time of the head's departure, Intel could not yet compete in discrete graphics cards. The company's first commercial gaming GPUs were "impressive but early," with driver issues noted. However, Intel presented a big roadmap for GPU development, so perhaps their next generations will be more competitive.

Koduri was responsible not only for graphics, but also for Intel's "accelerated computing" initiatives, including the development of chips for mining.

In December, Intel announced it was splitting the Accelerated Computing Systems and Graphics (AXG) graphics gas pedal division into two groups. The first was engaged in gaming graphics gas pedals, and the second in technologies for data centers. Then AXG executive vice president Raja Koduri returned to his role as Intel's chief graphics architect.