OpenAI poaches Uber India chief to lead its biggest market outside the US

OpenAI Poaches Uber India Chief: A Major AI Push into the Subcontinent

In a significant strategic move, OpenAI has announced the appointment of Prabhjeet Singh, formerly the President of Uber India and South Asia, as its first Managing Director for India. This high-profile hire, effective September, signals OpenAI's deep commitment to expanding its footprint in what has quickly become its second-largest market globally, right after the United States.

The move is more than just a new leadership appointment; it represents a comprehensive push by the leading AI research and deployment company to solidify its presence and accelerate AI adoption across India's vast and dynamic digital economy. With Singh at the helm, OpenAI is poised to navigate the complexities and capitalize on the immense opportunities within one of the world's most critical emerging technology landscapes.

The Strategic Importance of Prabhjeet Singh's Appointment

Prabhjeet Singh brings a decade of experience from Uber, where he successfully scaled the company's mobility business across India, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh. His tenure saw him steer Uber through significant growth, including ventures into electric mobility and integration with India's evolving digital public infrastructure. This background makes him particularly well-suited to lead OpenAI's efforts in a market known for its unique blend of rapid technological adoption and complex regulatory environment. Singh is an alumnus of IIT Kharagpur and IIM Ahmedabad, further cementing his strong understanding of the Indian business and tech ecosystem.

As Managing Director for India, Singh will be OpenAI's most senior leader in the country, reporting to Kiran Mani, OpenAI's Managing Director for Asia Pacific. His extensive mandate covers several critical areas: driving consumer growth, accelerating enterprise adoption, forging strategic partnerships, engaging with regulatory bodies, and overseeing day-to-day operations. This broad portfolio highlights OpenAI's ambition to deeply embed itself within India's AI ecosystem, supporting businesses, institutions, and government organizations in leveraging the transformative potential of artificial intelligence.

Why India is OpenAI's Next Big Frontier

India's significance to OpenAI's global strategy cannot be overstated. The country has rapidly emerged as OpenAI's second-largest user market, with over 100 million weekly ChatGPT users. This remarkable growth is fueled by a massive internet user base, a vibrant developer community, and a young, tech-savvy population. Notably, individuals aged 18 to 24 account for nearly 50% of ChatGPT usage in India, indicating a strong engagement among future innovators and professionals.

Beyond consumer adoption, India is also a top market for OpenAI's developer tools, such as Codex, with active users of its AI coding agent growing 27-fold in the past year. This demonstrates a robust and accelerating interest in AI-powered software development across Indian enterprises and among individual developers. The Indian government's proactive stance on AI, including the "IndiaAI Mission" with a significant investment of $1.2 billion to develop domestic AI capabilities, further enhances the country's appeal as a strategic hub.

OpenAI's Comprehensive India Strategy: Beyond Just a Hire

The appointment of Prabhjeet Singh is a cornerstone of a much broader, multi-faceted strategy OpenAI is deploying in India. This strategy encompasses several key pillars:

Expanding Physical Presence and Infrastructure

OpenAI has been steadily building its physical presence in India. The company opened its first office in New Delhi in late 2025 (or August 2025, depending on the source). Building on this, OpenAI plans to open additional offices in Mumbai and Bengaluru later in 2026. These expansions aim to better serve users and partners and tap into India's key tech and financial hubs.

A crucial part of OpenAI's infrastructure push in India is its partnership with the Tata Group. As part of its global "Stargate" initiative, OpenAI and Tata Group are collaborating to develop local, AI-ready data center capacity. OpenAI will be the first customer of Tata Consultancy Services' (TCS) HyperVault data center business, starting with 100 megawatts (MW) of capacity, with the potential to scale up to 1 gigawatt (GW) over time. This infrastructure is designed to enable OpenAI's advanced models to run securely within India, ensuring lower latency and meeting critical data residency, security, and compliance requirements for enterprise and government workloads.

Driving Enterprise Adoption and Partnerships

OpenAI is actively fostering strategic collaborations with major Indian conglomerates and businesses. Key partnerships include those with Reliance Industries and Tata Group, among others like JioHotstar, Eternal, Pine Labs, Cars24, HCLTech, PhonePe, CRED, and MakeMyTrip. The collaboration with Tata Group is particularly significant, as Tata plans to deploy ChatGPT Enterprise across its employees, starting with hundreds of thousands of TCS employees, making it one of the largest enterprise AI deployments globally. TCS also intends to use OpenAI's Codex to standardize AI-native software development across its teams.

These partnerships are geared towards accelerating AI-native transformation at a global scale and delivering industry-specific "Agentic AI" solutions tailored to the Indian context.

Upskilling and Education Initiatives

Recognizing the importance of a skilled workforce, OpenAI is investing in upskilling and education. The company plans to expand OpenAI Certifications in India, with TCS becoming the first participating organization outside the United States. These certifications aim to equip professionals with practical AI skills relevant across various industries. OpenAI has also announced educational partnerships with leading institutions, providing over 100,000 ChatGPT Edu licenses to prepare students with workforce-relevant skills. Participating institutions include the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (New Delhi), Manipal Academy of Higher Education, University of Petroleum and Energy Studies, and Pearl Academy.

Furthermore, the OpenAI Foundation and TCS are collaborating on AI training and resources for Indian youth, including toolkits for NGOs, with a goal to improve livelihoods for at least one million young people.

Regulatory Engagement and Localized Solutions

OpenAI has been systematically strengthening its regional executive team to navigate India's complex policy landscape. Prior to Singh's arrival, Rishi Jaitly, former Twitter India head, joined as a senior adviser in 2023 to assist with AI policy conversations. Pragya Misra, formerly of Truecaller and Meta, joined in 2024 to lead public policy and partnerships, later expanding her role to head of strategy and global affairs. These appointments underscore OpenAI's commitment to engaging proactively with policymakers and ensuring that its AI development aligns with local regulations and societal needs.

The company also aims to build AI tools tailored specifically for India, making advanced AI more affordable and accessible. For instance, it previously introduced a ChatGPT Go plan in India at a competitive price point, offering enhanced features for the local market.

Broader Industry Implications and Future Outlook

OpenAI's intensified focus on India reflects a broader trend among global AI companies recognizing the subcontinent's strategic importance. Competitors like Anthropic have also established offices in Bengaluru and appointed local leadership, indicating a burgeoning AI race in the region. This competitive landscape is expected to spur further innovation, investment, and talent development within India's AI ecosystem.

The establishment of robust local infrastructure, coupled with a concerted effort in enterprise adoption and skill development, positions India not merely as a consumer market but as a co-creator and significant contributor to global AI advancements. OpenAI's "build AI with India, for India, and in India" philosophy, as articulated by CEO Sam Altman, highlights a vision where India plays a central role in shaping the future of democratic AI adoption at scale.

Prabhjeet Singh's leadership will be instrumental in translating this vision into concrete outcomes, fostering an environment where AI can address unique Indian challenges, from healthcare and education to finance and agriculture, while also contributing to India's ambition of becoming a global AI leader.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Prabhjeet Singh's new role at OpenAI?

Prabhjeet Singh has been appointed as OpenAI's first Managing Director for India. He will be responsible for leading the company's operations in India, including consumer growth, enterprise adoption, strategic partnerships, and regulatory engagement.

Why is India such an important market for OpenAI?

India is OpenAI's second-largest user market globally, with over 100 million weekly ChatGPT users and a rapidly growing developer community. The country offers immense potential for AI adoption across various sectors, supported by a large talent pool and government initiatives.

What are OpenAI's major expansion plans in India?

OpenAI is expanding its physical presence with planned new offices in Mumbai and Bengaluru, in addition to its existing office in New Delhi. The company is also partnering with Tata Group to build significant AI-ready data center capacity in India and is investing in upskilling and educational programs.

When will Prabhjeet Singh officially join OpenAI?

Prabhjeet Singh will officially join OpenAI in September.