OpenAI appoints Prabhjeet Singh as India managing director

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 resignation from Uber on Friday, will join OpenAI in September. In this role, he will report to Kiran Mani, OpenAI’s managing director for Asia Pacific. Singh will be responsible for leading OpenAI’s operations in the country, with a mandate covering consumer growth, enterprise adoption, partnerships, and regulatory engagement.

The appointment underscores the strategic significance of India, which OpenAI identifies as its second-largest market after the U.S. The company has pointed to the rapidly growing adoption of ChatGPT as a sign of the market’s importance. India’s digital ecosystem includes more than a billion internet users, making it a critical arena for the deployment of generative AI. To support this growth, OpenAI is establishing a physical footprint in the country. The company opened its first office in New Delhi last August and has announced plans to open additional offices in Mumbai and Bengaluru.

Singh will lead an established local team that includes Pragya Misra, who was hired in 2024 and serves as the head of strategy and global affairs, and Rishi Jaitly, who serves as a senior adviser. OpenAI has also secured early partnerships with Indian conglomerates, including Reliance and Tata Group. This leadership expansion comes as OpenAI faces direct competition from rivals like Anthropic. Anthropic opened its own India office in late 2025 and subsequently appointed Irina Ghose as its India head.

Why it matters

OpenAI is formalizing its India strategy by installing dedicated leadership to manage the complex intersection of consumer growth, enterprise adoption, and local regulatory requirements in its second-largest market.