AMD has hired Raja Koduri away from Apple some four years after Apple hired the graphics engineering executive away from AMD. This is the second GPU wonk that AMD has reclaimed from Apple, with Jim Keller having returned to the processor firm in August of 2012.
Apple first hired Raja Koduri in April of 2009. Mr. Koduri had been AMD's Chief Technology Officer of the Graphics Product Group. He came to AMD when that company acquired ATI. During his tenure at Apple, he helped the company develop GPUs that have gone into Apple's iOS devices.
According to Anandtech, Mr. Koduri's position at AMD will be Corporate Vice President of Visual Computing. He will be responsible for both software and hardware for AMD's GPU business.
Mr. Koduri is also a Technical Advisor to an Indian-company called Makuta. He told Anandtech that AMD's willingness to work with Makuta as a side project was big part of why he took the job.
"I always had the dream of building a Pixar like company in India and I got an opportunity to engage with a group of people who have the same mission," Mr. Koduri said. "AMD allowed me to stay engaged on this endeavor and that's one of the reasons I chose AMD."
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