OpenAI Appoints JioStar CEO to Lead Asia-Pacific Operations

OpenAI Appoints Kiran Mani as Managing Director for Asia-Pacific Operations

OpenAI, a leading artificial intelligence company, has appointed Kiran Mani as the Managing Director for its Asia-Pacific operations. Mani, who is currently the CEO of JioStar, a joint venture between Reliance Industries Ltd. and Walt Disney Co., will assume the newly created role in June based out of OpenAI's Singapore office. He will report directly to Chief Strategy Officer Jason Kwon.

Key Highlights

• Kiran Mani brings 25 years of experience in developing and scaling multi-billion-dollar digital platforms and ecosystems, with expertise in consumer technology, mobile, cloud, and media streaming.
• OpenAI is competing with rivals such as Anthropic PBC and Google (Alphabet Inc.) to attract users, with Asia's large and growing markets offering major opportunities.
• India, home to over 1.4 billion people, is particularly important for OpenAI, with the company aiming to leverage the country's growing demand for digital services.
• JioHotstar, a streaming platform operated by JioStar, has amassed a subscriber base exceeding 300 million in India.

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Background on Kiran Mani

• Kiran Mani has a strong academic background, holding a Chartered Financial Analyst certification with specialisation in Economics, Finance, and Analytics from the Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts (1996-1998).
• He completed his PGDBA from IBS Hyderabad (1996-1998), graduating as the National Topper and Merit Scholar with a focus on Business Strategy, Management, and Marketing.
• Kiran Mani has held senior leadership roles at Google, Microsoft, and IBM, with responsibilities spanning India, the U.S., and the Asia-Pacific region.

OpenAI's Expansion in Asia

• In 2024, OpenAI hired its first employee in India, a head of government relations, and has been steadily increasing its workforce in the country since then.
• The company has announced a collaboration with the Tata Group to develop artificial intelligence technologies, including building data centre infrastructure.

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