OpenAI appoints international expansion boss, opens new offices globally
Artificial intelligence (AI) research and development leader OpenAI is making significant strides toward international expansion. The company has announced the appointment of Oliver Jay as its new Head of International Expansion. Jay comes with a rich experience, having built Dropbox's sales team and served as chief revenue officer at Asana. He was also on the board at Grab, Asia's equivalent to Uber. The ChatGPT-maker has also announced the opening of four new offices around the world.
OpenAI establishes APAC office in Singapore
Jay's role will be crucial as OpenAI navigates the complexities of entering new markets and forging global partnerships. The company is also expanding its physical presence with the opening of offices in Singapore, Paris, Brussels, and New York City. These locations join the existing offices in London, Dublin, and Tokyo, establishing a more geographically diverse network for research, development, and collaboration. OpenAI's Asia-Pacific (APAC) office will be based out of Singapore.
OpenAI's global growth fueled by recent funding
OpenAI's global expansion is being fueled by a recent infusion of $6.4 billion in cash at the start of this month. The firm has attracted investments from tech giants like Microsoft and NVIDIA, raising another $6.6 billion in cash and securing a $4 billion credit line. This financial backing has propelled OpenAI to an estimated valuation of $157 billion.
OpenAI's Singapore team to focus on local language datasets
Speaking at Singapore's Tech Week conference, OpenAI's head of policy in APAC, Sandy Kunvatanagarn, stressed on the need for linguistic diversity in Asia. She said the Singapore team will focus on building local language datasets through partnerships. "I think we all realize that Asia is one of the most linguistically diverse places in the entire world," she said, emphasizing natural speech in OpenAI products.
OpenAI's new model and safety evaluations
OpenAI is banking on its recently released o1 model to boost demand for its products. The o1 family of models employs "chain of thought" techniques designed to deliver more accurate results. Kunvatanagarn described it as a "game changer" during a Q&A session at the conference. She also emphasized that OpenAI conducts rigorous evaluations of its products to ensure their safety, a crucial factor in gaining user trust and acceptance.
