OpenAI’s Pragya Misra, aged 39, who previously worked with Truecaller AB and Meta Platforms Inc., has officially joined OpenAI as the company’s first employee in India. Misra announced her new role as the Public Policy & Partnerships Lead at OpenAI through a post on social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter). In her announcement, she expressed enthusiasm about contributing to India’s AI mission and advancing OpenAI’s values of safety, transparency, and human-centric innovation. Misra highlighted her eagerness to collaborate with various stakeholders in India, including developers, users, academics, civil society, and policymakers, to leverage AI for societal benefit.
Before joining OpenAI, Misra served as the Director of Public Affairs at Truecaller AB since July 2021, where she worked closely with government ministries, stakeholders, investors, and media partners. Prior to her tenure at Truecaller, she was involved in leading WhatsApp’s campaign against misinformation in 2018 and held positions at Ernst & Young and the Royal Danish Embassy in New Delhi. Misra holds an MBA from the International Management Institute (2012) and completed her commerce degree from Delhi University. Additionally, she obtained a Diploma in Bargaining and Negotiations from the London School of Economics and Political Science.
Beyond her professional career, Misra has a passion for golf and has represented India in international tournaments between 1998 and 2007. She is also a Heartfulness Meditation Trainer and hosts the Pragyaan Podcast.
OpenAI’s decision to appoint Misra reflects its strategic initiative to strengthen its presence in India’s tech market, particularly amid competition from Google’s AI model. Misra is set to assume her responsibilities at OpenAI by the end of this month.
In related news, OpenAI introduced an enhancement to its ChatGPT system, referred to as Memory, in February. This feature enables ChatGPT to retain queries, prompts, and customized modifications more permanently. Initially available to a select group of users, OpenAI has now extended the accessibility of Memory to subscribers of ChatGPT Plus outside of Europe or Korea.
