OpenAI Elevates India Operations With Uber Veteran as First Country Managing Director

OpenAI Names Prabhjeet Singh as India’s First Managing Director

OpenAI is doubling down on India by installing Prabhjeet Singh, the former head of Uber’s South Asia division, as its inaugural managing director for the country. Singh will assume the role in September, overseeing consumer adoption, enterprise deals, partnerships, regulatory affairs, and operational infrastructure—cementing India’s status as OpenAI’s most strategically important market after the United States.

According to TechCrunch AI, Singh announced his departure from Uber on Friday. At OpenAI, he will report to Kiran Mani, who oversees the company’s Asia-Pacific operations. The appointment underscores a broader pattern: over the past 18 months, OpenAI has significantly expanded its footprint across India’s three major tech hubs through office openings, talent acquisitions, and regional partnerships.

Building India’s OpenAI Infrastructure

The company’s India commitment extends well beyond this single hire. According to TechCrunch AI, OpenAI opened its first Indian office in New Delhi in August 2025 and has since committed to establishing operations in Mumbai and Bengaluru. The hiring pipeline is already active, with open positions spanning AI deployment roles, developer relations, solutions architecture, and partnership management.

OpenAI has also recruited senior policy and strategy talent ahead of Singh’s arrival. According to TechCrunch AI, the company brought on Pragya Misra, a former Meta and Truecaller executive, to lead public policy and partnerships, later expanding her role to head of strategy and global affairs. The company also enlisted Rishi Jaitly, a former Twitter India leader, as a senior adviser to facilitate government engagement on AI policy. These appointments suggest OpenAI views regulatory and political relationships as central to long-term market success in India.

Competitive Pressure and Partnership Momentum

Singh’s hire arrives amid accelerating competition for India’s AI market. According to TechCrunch AI, Anthropic, OpenAI’s primary LLM competitor, opened a Bengaluru office in late 2025 and appointed Irina Ghose—a former Microsoft India managing director—to lead the country earlier this year. This parallel move indicates both companies view India not as a secondary market but as a critical battleground.

In the past six months, OpenAI has announced partnerships with Reliance and Tata Group, India’s largest conglomerates, and has become a participant in the country’s emerging data center infrastructure buildout. According to TechCrunch AI, partnerships have spanned higher education, enterprise payments, AI-driven commerce, and web-streaming platforms. ChatGPT’s rapid adoption among India’s developer population and consumers has reinforced the company’s conviction that the market represents its fastest-growing opportunity outside North America.

Why This Matters

Singh’s appointment signals that OpenAI views India not as a market to serve reactively through API distribution, but as a jurisdiction requiring localized leadership, government relationships, and enterprise infrastructure. For teams evaluating LLM vendors in India—particularly enterprises in fintech, e-commerce, and telecommunications—this consolidation of OpenAI’s regional strategy under dedicated leadership may accelerate product customization, compliance roadmaps, and partnership terms. Conversely, Anthropic’s parallel investments suggest the market is large enough to sustain multiple AI leaders. The presence of both companies competing for policy attention and enterprise wallet share will likely shape India’s regulatory environment for AI over the next 18–24 months.