NEW DELHI, June 27 — OpenAI has named former Uber India head Prabhjeet Singh as its Managing Director for India, a move that signals the company’s intent to deepen operations in one of its fastest-growing markets. The appointment, announced Friday, makes Singh the ChatGPT maker’s most senior executive in the country. Singh will join the company in September this year.
He will report to Kiran Mani, Managing Director for Asia Pacific, and oversee operations spanning consumer growth, enterprise adoption, partnerships, regulatory engagement and business operations in India, the company said. India is crucial to OpenAI’s growth strategy, officials noted.
The company has been deepening its presence through enterprise collaborations, developer outreach and engagement with policymakers. It opened its first office in New Delhi in November last year. Singh’s career path cuts through some of the world’s most demanding institutions.
He graduated from the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur and later completed his MBA at the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad. Both are among India’s most prestigious schools.
According to his LinkedIn profile, Singh began his career at Lehman Brothers in London, working as a senior analyst. He later moved to McKinsey & Company as a senior associate. In 2015 he joined Uber as head of strategy, spending nearly a decade at the ride-hailing company before taking on leadership roles at technology giants.
As Managing Director for India, Singh will be responsible for building partnerships and supporting India’s wider AI ecosystem, while helping more consumers, businesses, institutions and government bodies benefit from AI, OpenAI said. This appointment comes as the AI sector in Central Asia and across emerging markets watches closely. For trade observers in Kazakhstan and the wider region, the move underscores how global AI firms are prioritising large, fast-growing economies where regulatory frameworks are still taking shape.
India’s market size and its pool of engineering talent make it a natural beachhead for companies like OpenAI looking to scale beyond the US and Europe. The company has been working to expand its footprint through enterprise collaborations and developer outreach.
Singh’s experience at Uber — a company that navigated complex regulatory environments across dozens of countries — may prove relevant as OpenAI engages with Indian policymakers on issues around data governance, AI safety and market access. Data shows that India has become a significant testing ground for AI products, with millions of users accessing ChatGPT and other tools from the country. The government has signalled interest in developing its own AI capabilities while also seeking partnerships with foreign firms.
Singh’s appointment also reflects a broader trend: technology companies are increasingly hiring executives with deep local market knowledge to lead their India operations, rather than relying on expatriate managers. His background at IIT and IIM gives him credentials that carry weight in Indian business circles.
The company said Singh will oversee business operations in the country. His start date in September gives him several months to transition from his previous role before taking on the new position. For now, the market will watch how Singh navigates the balance between OpenAI’s global strategy and India’s specific regulatory and competitive landscape.
The company has not announced further leadership changes for the region.
