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OpenAI picks Coursera’s Raghav Gupta to lead its education vertical in India
Separately, OpenAI announced the launch of OpenAI Learning Accelerator, an India-first initiative to train teachers on using artificial intelligence.
ChatGPT creator OpenAI has appointed former Coursera MD Raghav Gupta to lead its education vertical in India and the Asia Pacific, thus doubling down on the AI potential of what is already its biggest international market.
“We recently hired Raghav to join our Delhi office to lead as the head of education for India and APAC, working locally with our team,” Inc42 quoted OpenAI Vice President Leah Belsky said during the OpenAI Education Summit India in New Delhi on Monday.
According to Inc42, Gupta was with Coursera for eight years—in his final role, he was heading the edutech firm’s India and Asia Pacific operations.
A few days ago, OpenAI appointed Meta Platforms Inc.’s marketing lead Sheeladitya Mohanty as its marketing lead in India. In the new role, Mohanty would be “driving education, adoption, and responsible use of OpenAI’s products across key audiences to make AI accessible and impactful across India”.
The announcement of the appointments come after the ChatGPT creator disclosed its plans to set up an office in New Delhi, commenced local hiring in India, and listed three job openings for the same. At present, OpenAI India has only one employee—Pragya Misra, who leads public policy and partnerships in the country.
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Education & OpenAI
OpenAI has announced the launch of OpenAI Learning Accelerator, an India-first initiative in association with the Union Ministry of Education and All India Council for Technical Education. The idea is to train teachers on using artificial intelligence for scholastic purposes.
Separately, the billionaire Sam Altman-led company has extended a grant of $500,000 to the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, to research how AI can improve learning outcomes and teaching methods.
“There is huge potential to work closely with educators and institutions across India…,” Gupta said in a statement. “We (now) have an opportunity to truly transform education through AI, driving better learning outcomes, while supporting India’s ambitions to be a global leader in AI-enabled education.”
To be sure, the partnerships with the education ministry and IIT Madras—as well as the appointments of Gupta and Mohanty—extend OpenAI’s already expansive educational initiatives. That includes:
- OpenAI Academy for India, an literacy program in partnership with the Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.
- ChatGPT’s Study Mode that gives personalised responses, interactive questioning, and step-by-step instruction to students.
- ChatGPT Go, an India-specific subscription plan at ₹399/month with integrated UPI.
The government has also announced its collaboration with OpenAI for its India AI Mission to tap into the country’s tech talent and developer ecosystem.
