Intel Veteran Lisa Spelman to Lead Cornelis Networks Amid AI Expansion

Lisa Spelman, a long-time executive at Intel Corp., is set to become the CEO of Cornelis Networks, a startup that emerged from Intel in 2020 to leverage the growing demand for artificial intelligence. Spelman, who has extensive experience in managing Intel’s data center business, will assume her new role on August 15, as announced by Cornelis on Thursday.

Cornelis Networks specializes in networking technology that connects multiple servers within data centers, enabling them to work together as a unified system. This capability is crucial for developing AI models that require significant, synchronized computing power across entire data centers.

Nvidia Corp., known for its pivotal role in AI software, offers a competing networking solution called InfiniBand, which it acquired through its $7 billion purchase of Mellanox in 2020.

Spelman brings over 20 years of experience from Intel, where she last served as a corporate vice president in the Data Center and AI Group. Cornelis Networks, headquartered in Wayne, Pennsylvania, originated within this Intel division. Philip Murphy, a co-founder of Cornelis who initially served as CEO, will now transition to the role of chief operating officer. Intel maintains a minority stake in the company.

Cornelis Networks targets both cloud service providers and enterprises establishing their own data centers. Spelman estimates the potential market for their technology to be approximately $20 billion. She emphasized that while Cornelis will continue to collaborate with Intel, it also considers other industry players, including Intel competitor Advanced Micro Devices Inc., as clients.

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