Who Is Prabhjeet Singh? Former Uber India President Appointed OpenAI's First Managing Director for India

In a significant strategic move, artificial intelligence (AI) powerhouse OpenAI has appointed Prabhjeet Singh, a seasoned executive and former President of Uber India and South Asia, as its first Managing Director for India. This high-profile appointment underscores OpenAI's deepened commitment to India, which it identifies as a rapidly expanding, top-priority market crucial for its global growth ambitions. The timing reflects the accelerating pace of AI adoption across India's consumer, enterprise, and government sectors.

What Happened

OpenAI officially announced Prabhjeet Singh's designation as Managing Director for India, with his tenure slated to begin in September this year. In his new capacity, Singh will serve as OpenAI's most senior executive in the country, reporting directly to Kiran Mani, the Managing Director for Asia Pacific. His broad mandate encompasses driving consumer growth, fostering enterprise adoption, cultivating strategic partnerships, engaging with regulatory bodies, and overseeing overall operations within the Indian market. Singh transitions to OpenAI after a nearly 11-year stint at ride-hailing giant Uber, where he most recently held the position of President for India and South Asia. During his leadership at Uber, he was instrumental in expanding the company’s mobility business across India, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh, introducing new services like Auto, Moto, and Shuttle, and focusing on electric mobility initiatives and partnerships with India's burgeoning digital public infrastructure. Prabhjeet Singh Quits Uber India After Over a Decade of Service.

Why It Matters

This appointment is a clear signal of OpenAI's intent to capture a substantial share of India's booming AI market. The company has repeatedly highlighted India as one of its top-priority markets globally, even designating it as its second-largest market after the United States. India's artificial intelligence market is on a robust growth trajectory, with projections indicating a significant expansion from approximately USD 13.05 billion in 2025 to USD 130.63 billion by 2032, exhibiting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 39%. Other estimates place the market size at USD 21.65 billion in 2024, expected to reach USD 257.45 billion by 2035 at a CAGR of around 25.24%. Singh's extensive experience in scaling technology businesses and building large consumer platforms in emerging markets, honed during his time at Uber, is expected to be invaluable for OpenAI as it navigates the unique complexities and opportunities of the Indian landscape. Shankh Mitra Salary Package: All About Pay of Indian-Origin Welltower CEO, Ranked 2nd Globally.

Background & Context

Prabhjeet Singh brings a strong academic and professional pedigree to his new role. An alumnus of the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur and the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Ahmedabad, his career began as a senior analyst at Lehman Brothers before a significant tenure as an Associate Partner at McKinsey & Company. OpenAI has been steadily building its presence in India, having opened its first office in New Delhi in November 2025. The company also has plans to establish additional offices in major tech hubs like Mumbai and Bengaluru in 2026. This geographical expansion is complemented by strategic hires, including Pragya Misra as Head of Strategy and Global Affairs and Rishi Jaitly as a Senior Advisor for government engagement. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has frequently praised India's rapid AI adoption rate and its robust commitment to investing across the entire AI technology stack. The company has also initiated partnerships with entities like the Tata Group and TCS, the latter for expanding OpenAI Certifications to enhance AI skills among professionals in India.

Stakeholder Views

The appointment has been met with positive anticipation from industry observers, who view it as a strategic move by OpenAI to solidify its foothold in India. An Uber spokesperson acknowledged Singh's departure, expressing gratitude for his decade-long leadership and significant contributions to Uber's growth in India, while reiterating Uber's continued commitment to the Indian market. Analysts suggest that Singh's appointment reflects OpenAI's commitment to localising its approach, critical for navigating India's diverse market and evolving regulatory framework. This development occurs amidst an intensifying competitive landscape, with global tech giants like Google, Microsoft, Anthropic, and Meta vying for market share. Furthermore, India is witnessing a significant "sovereign AI" push, with homegrown players such as Sarvam AI and Krutrim AI developing models tailored to India's unique linguistic diversity and enterprise needs, presenting both collaboration opportunities and competition for OpenAI.

What to Watch Next

The industry will keenly watch how Prabhjeet Singh steers OpenAI's agenda in India, particularly in strengthening local partnerships across industries, fostering the nascent AI ecosystem, and driving wider adoption of generative AI across businesses, educational institutions, and government bodies. Navigating India's evolving data policies and AI governance frameworks will be a crucial aspect of his role. His leadership will also be instrumental in determining how OpenAI tailors its offerings for the Indian market, potentially integrating with vernacular languages and India's extensive digital public infrastructure. The recent limited release of OpenAI's new GPT 5.6 models, including variants like Sol, Terra, and Luna, provides a new suite of tools whose adoption and impact in the Indian enterprise sector will be closely monitored.

Prabhjeet Singh’s appointment as OpenAI’s India MD marks a pivotal moment for both the global AI leader and the rapidly expanding Indian AI ecosystem. His proven track record in scaling technology platforms in a complex, high-growth market positions him well to lead OpenAI's deep engagement with India, shaping the future of AI adoption and innovation in one of the world's most dynamic digital economies.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 28, 2026 10:32 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).