OpenAI strengthens web infrastructure team with Cloudflare hire

OpenAI hired Cloudflare engineering manager Kate Reznykova to strengthen its web infrastructure team, focusing on application-layer tasks like routing and load balancing. Reznykova previously worked on AI infrastructure and SDKs at Cloudflare. The move comes amid tensions with Apple over alleged hiring misconduct.

OpenAI is building out the web infrastructure component of its tech stack, having poached Cloudflare engineering manager Kate Reznykova. Reznykova revealed the move in a post on X Twitter https://x.com/whoiskatrin/status/2076612250941727158?s=20 , with her official title listed as "member of technical staff," per her LinkedIn. “ChatGPT has become part of how millions of people think, work, and build, and I’m really looking forward to helping shape what comes next alongside the remarkable team behind it,” the new hire wrote. Reznykova previously held engineering roles at French video game company Gameloft, eBay, and location finder app what3words. She also spent time at Apple, working on internal automation tools and libraries. In her role at Cloudflare, Reznykova worked on AI infrastructure and primitives fundamental building blocks for AI agents. She also worked on software development kits, including the Agents https://agents.cloudflare.com/ and Sandbox https://sandbox.cloudflare.com/ SDKs. Unlike Stargate https://www.sdxcentral.com/news/openais-stargate-hiring-for-principal-network-engineer-to-define-global-routing-and-backbone-architecture/ and MRC https://www.sdxcentral.com/news/openai-simplifies-large-ai-training-networks-with-ethernet-based-protocol/ , which pertain to efforts building out OpenAI’s compute infrastructure, the firm’s web infrastructure team focuses more on the application layer, with responsibilities like optimizing traditional web routing and load balancing. Responding to the move with a slight reference to Apple’s brawl with OpenAI over its alleged hiring practices https://www.sdxcentral.com/news/apple-claims-openai-staff-exploited-network-vulnerability-to-siphon-trade-secrets/ , Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince said https://x.com/eastdakota/status/2076754809449800051 : “Some companies fight OpenAI or others taking their employees. We just know it means we’re soon to have even more Cloudflare workers customers.” Apple filed a lawsuit late last week alleging staff who left for OpenAI were deliberately pinching confidential files and technical specifications, while asserting such misconduct was “normalized and exemplified” by the ChatGPT maker’s leadership.