Intel Drops After OpenAI Passes On Its Hardware

Intel INTC slipped a little on Wednesday after OpenAI made it clear it won't be buying Intel chips, and the story carries a bit of irony.

Back in 2017, OpenAI actually approached Intel looking for investment, and Intel turned them away. Now OpenAI is one of the biggest forces in tech, and it's Intel hoping for a deal that isn't going to happen.

Investors took the news calmly, and the stock only dipped slightly, but the message is pretty obvious: OpenAI is choosing other chip partners. It doesn't help that Intel recently lost its AI leader, Sachin Katti, to OpenAI. While OpenAI didn't give a formal explanation, Carnegie Mellon professor Tim Derdenger put it bluntly, saying OpenAI has no reason to return to a supplier with weaker performance, especially one that rejected it years ago.

There's still a tiny possibility Intel could win business someday, but analysts say it would require a big leap in chip performance.Intel did try to steady the picture by adding Craig Barratt to its board. He's a long-time semiconductor veteran with deep industry experience and previously led Barefoot Networks before Intel acquired it.