OpenAI's First Indian Employee Pragya Misra Eager to Contribute to AI Mission
Pragya Misra, OpenAI’s first employee in India, has officially joined the AI company as its Public Policy & Partnerships Lead. On social media, Misra expressed her enthusiasm for her new role, stating her eagerness to advance OpenAI's values of safety, transparency, and human-centric innovation. Her new position involves collaborating with developers, users, academics, civil society, and policymakers to leverage AI for the benefit of India.
Misra brings a wealth of experience to OpenAI, having previously worked at Truecaller AB and Meta Platforms Inc. She served as Truecaller's Director of Public Affairs since July 2021, working closely with government ministries, investors, and media partners. Prior to that, she led WhatsApp’s campaign against misinformation in 2018 and held positions at Ernst & Young and the Royal Danish Embassy in New Delhi.
Her educational background includes an MBA from the International Management Institute in 2012 and a commerce degree from Delhi University. She also holds a Diploma in Bargaining and Negotiations from the London School of Economics and Political Science. Outside of work, Misra is an avid golfer who represented India in international tournaments from 1998 to 2007 and is a Heartfulness Meditation Trainer. She also hosts the Pragyaan Podcast.
OpenAI’s decision to hire Misra is seen as a strategic move to strengthen its presence in India's tech market, where it faces competition from Google's AI model. Misra is expected to begin her duties at OpenAI by the end of the month.
In other news, OpenAI announced an upgrade to its ChatGPT system earlier this year, known as Memory. This feature allows ChatGPT to retain queries, prompts, and tailored modifications for longer periods, enhancing its capabilities. Initially available to a select group of users, OpenAI has since expanded Memory's availability to subscribers of ChatGPT Plus outside of Europe or Korea.
