Betting on the rapidly growing AI market in the region, the San Francisco-based OpenAI has appointed JioStar CEO and former Google executive Kiran Mani to lead its Asia-Pacific operations. The move comes as OpenAI ramps up competition with Anthropic and Google in driving AI adoption across Asia.
Mani brings over 13 years at Google, where he served as General Manager for Android and Google Play across Asia-Pacific and Japan, along with stints at Microsoft, IBM, and Ogilvy & Mather.
The appointment comes as OpenAI weathers bruising reputational damage. A Pentagon deal signed on February 28, hours after Anthropic declined the same contract over ethical concerns, triggered a user revolt, with uninstalls spiking and senior robotics executive Caitlin Kalinowski quitting in protest. Altman himself later admitted the rollout “looked opportunistic and sloppy.”
Here is re-post of an internal post:
We have been working with the DoW to make some additions in our agreement to make our principles very clear.
1. We are going to amend our deal to add this language, in addition to everything else:
“• Consistent with applicable laws,…
— Sam Altman (@sama) March 3, 2026
Since opening its first Asia office in Tokyo in April 2024, OpenAI has expanded its footprint across the region, including Singapore, Korea, Australia, and India.
India has emerged as ChatGPT’s second-largest market globally by weekly users. These are not passive users – they are students, developers, doctors, and professionals using AI for research, coding, writing, and complex problem-solving at a pace that has outrun every market except America. That tension – between India as a massive consumer of AI and India as a builder of it – is the defining question beneath the market milestone.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, on February 18 during the India AI Impact Summit 2026, said India has crossed 100 million weekly active ChatGPT users – one in every eight users worldwide – making it the platform’s second-largest market after the United States.
Mani will join as Managing Director, leading strategy and business operations from Singapore. He will take on the new role in June, reporting to OpenAI’s Chief Strategy Officer Jason Kwon, and will relocate from India to Singapore, as per media reports. He has stepped down as JioStar CEO – Digital.
Also Read: OpenAI Plans to Nearly Double Staff to 8,000 by End of 2026
