[Update] After Quitting Uber, Prabhjeet Singh To Join OpenAI As India MD

Singh was named Uber’s President, India & South Asia in June 2020 after joining the company in 2015

He earlier worked at consulting giant McKinsey and financial services firm Lehman Brothers

The exit of Uber India’s top boss comes amid mounting losses and competitive pressure, albeit Uber continues to invest in its India business

Update | June 26, 22:21 IST

Hours after it emerged that Prabhjeet Singh had stepped down as Uber India head, he will now join AI juggernaut OpenAI as managing director (MD) for India operations.

Confirming the development to Inc42, OpenAI said that Singh will join the company in September and report to its Asia Pacific MD Kiran Mani. The AI giant added that he will oversee the company’s performance across consumer growth, enterprise adoption, strategic partnerships, regulatory engagement and operations.

He will also focus on building partnerships across India’s AI ecosystem, while pushing for adoption of OpenAI’s tools among consumers, businesses, institutions and government bodies.

Original | June 26, 19:41 IST

Prabhjeet Singh, who has been heading Uber’s operations in India for over a decade now, has stepped down.

“India is one of Uber’s most important markets globally, an important driver of innovation and long-term growth. The strength of our business today reflects the incredible team and foundation built over the years. We thank Prabhjeet for his leadership and lasting contributions in his decade-long journey with Uber – we remain deeply committed to our next phase of growth in India,” an Uber spokesperson told Inc42. 

While details on his next move remain unknown as yet, the spokesperson confirmed that he was exiting to pursue another leadership opportunity. As per a report by ET, he will be joining a “frontier tech” company next. 

Singh joined Uber in August 2015 and was named President, India & South Asia in June 2020. Before that, he spent almost a decade at consulting giant McKinsey and earlier worked at financial services firm Lehman Brothers before it went bankrupt in the global financial crisis. 

Under Singh’s leadership, Uber India commanded a dominant position in the ride-hailing ecosystem in India for some time. However, the emergence of newer players like Rapido and Namma Yatri has put its leadership position under question over the past couple of years or so. 

Amid the intensifying competition, the company shifted its business model away from commissions charged to drivers and adopted a subscription-based model after Rapido gained significant market share by using this strategy. 

Notably, Uber’s global parent invested nearly ₹3,000 Cr (around $330 Mn) into its Indian arm earlier this year. The company also announced that it would establish its first data centre in India in partnership with Adani Group, set to go live later this year. 

The company has yet to turn a profit in India. 

In FY25, its net loss soared to ₹1,511 Cr, almost 15X of the previous year, while its gross revenue remained flat at ₹2,604 Cr. It has yet to file its financials for the latest fiscal year FY26. 

Source: Inc42 - Startups