OpenAI has appointed Prabhjeet Singh, the former president of Uber India and South Asia, as its first managing director for India. Singh, who announced his departure from Uber on Friday, is set to join OpenAI in September. He will report to Kiran Mani, OpenAI’s managing director for the Asia-Pacific region, and will oversee the company’s operations in India, focusing on consumer growth, enterprise adoption, partnerships, regulatory engagement, and overall performance.
This strategic hire underscores OpenAI’s commitment to expanding its footprint in India, which the company identifies as its second-largest market after the United States. In August of the previous year, OpenAI inaugurated its first office in New Delhi and has since announced plans to establish additional offices in Mumbai and Bengaluru. The company has also been actively recruiting in the region, with positions open for AI deployment engineers, developer experience engineers, a developer marketing lead, a partner director, and solutions engineers.
OpenAI’s engagement in India extends beyond office expansion and hiring. The company has formed partnerships across various sectors, including higher education, enterprise payments, AI-driven commerce, and web streaming. Additionally, OpenAI is participating in India’s growing data center infrastructure. The rapid adoption of ChatGPT in India highlights the country’s significance to OpenAI’s global strategy. Prominent Indian conglomerates such as Reliance and Tata Group are among OpenAI’s early partners in the region.
Prior to Singh’s appointment, OpenAI had brought on former Twitter India head Rishi Jaitly as a senior adviser to facilitate engagement with the Indian government on AI policy. In 2024, the company hired Pragya Misra, formerly of Truecaller and Meta, to lead public policy and partnerships, later expanding her role to head of strategy and global affairs.
India’s vast developer community, exceeding a billion internet users, and increasing demand for generative AI have made it a focal point for U.S.-based AI companies. Competitor Anthropic established an office in Bengaluru in late 2025 and recently appointed former Microsoft India managing director Irina Ghose as its India head.
OpenAI’s appointment of Prabhjeet Singh, with his extensive experience in scaling operations and navigating complex regulatory environments, positions the company to strengthen its presence in India. This move reflects the broader trend of AI firms investing in the Indian market to leverage its technological talent and burgeoning digital economy.
