OpenAI has poached Prabhjeet Singh, former Uber India and South Asia president, to lead its Indian operations as managing director. Singh will take over from Kiran Mani in September, reporting directly to him.

The appointment comes as OpenAI continues its aggressive expansion in India, opening new offices in Mumbai and Bengaluru after its initial foray into New Delhi last August. The company’s strategic hires, including Pragya Misra and Rishi Jaitly, underscore its commitment to the burgeoning AI market.

In recent months, OpenAI has forged partnerships with Indian institutions like Reliance and Tata Group, while also expanding into higher education, enterprise payments, AI-powered commerce, and web streaming. The Indian government’s growing interest in AI policies further cements this country's importance for U.S. tech giants.

Meanwhile, rivals like Anthropic are following suit by establishing a presence in Bengaluru with Irina Ghose at the helm. As India’s vast developer pool and burgeoning internet user base attract global tech talent, it appears that the next AI battleground is well and truly set to heat up.