OpenAI begins hiring engineers in India as it expands enterprise focus

OpenAI, the world’s most valuable artificial intelligence startup and creator of ChatGPT, has started hiring engineers in India as it deepens its focus on enterprise partnerships in what has become its largest market outside the United States by user base.

At a media roundtable in Bengaluru on Tuesday, Srinivas Narayanan, Chief Technology Officer for Business Applications, and Pragya Misra, Head of Strategy and Global Affairs for India, said the company has begun hiring solutions engineers as part of its India expansion strategy. While they did not share specific numbers, they revealed that the company plans to maintain a lean team during the first year of setting up operations in the country.

Misra explained that OpenAI currently has several go-to-market roles open following the announcement of its India office in August. She said the company had since added openings for solutions engineers and architects to support its enterprise-focused teams. The initial objective, she said, is to build a strong foundational team within the first six to twelve months, after which hiring will gradually expand.

Solutions engineers and architects act as a bridge between a technology firm’s core engineering and sales divisions. They play a crucial role in understanding enterprise requirements, helping to design or customise software solutions that align with client needs — a model already established by firms such as Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, and Google.

A look at OpenAI’s careers page indicates that the company is actively ramping up its India presence, seeking senior sales executives to manage relationships with startups and large enterprises. Current listings include eight open positions across roles such as AI Deployment Manager, Solutions Architect, and Head of Asia-Pacific, Global Affairs.

OpenAI is focusing its India expansion efforts on Bengaluru, which Narayanan described as central to deepening engagement with developers and the broader startup ecosystem. Misra added that building stronger relations with Indian startups forms a key pillar of OpenAI’s growth strategy in the country. Among the firm’s active listings in India is a Startups Account Director, signalling the company’s intent to integrate more closely with the country’s fast-growing innovation sector.

The company has also tailored its offerings for the Indian market. In August, OpenAI launched ChatGPT Go, an India-exclusive subscription plan priced at ₹399, which includes higher message limits, image generation, and file upload capabilities. Earlier this month, the company announced that the plan would be free for 12 months for users who register during a limited-time promotion.

India’s rapidly expanding digital base, with more than one billion internet users, has made it a critical market for OpenAI, which now counts 800 million weekly active users worldwide.