ChatGPT developer OpenAI has hired its first employee in India, appointing a government relations chief just as the country votes to elect a new government that will shape artificial intelligence regulations in the world’s most populous country.

The Microsoft Corp-backed company has hired Pragya Misra to lead public policy affairs and partnerships in India, people familiar with the matter said. The people asked not to be identified because the appointment has not been made public. Misra, 39, previously worked at Truecaller AB and Meta Platforms Inc. and plans to start working at OpenAI at the end of this month.

The hiring highlights the generative artificial intelligence company’s efforts to push for favorable rules as governments around the world consider how to regulate the rapidly evolving technology. With a population of 1.4 billion and a fast-growing economy, India represents a huge growth opportunity for global technology companies, but it has proven to be a difficult country to navigate as lawmakers and regulators seek to ensure that local companies are not trampled upon.

OpenAI representatives did not respond to requests for comment outside regular U.S. business hours. Misra did not immediately respond to a LinkedIn message.

Misra previously ran public affairs at Stockholm-listed contact verification company Truecaller, which sees India as a top market. Prior to that, she worked at Meta Platforms Inc., where she led WhatsApp’s anti-disinformation campaign in 2018.

In India, OpenAI faces competition from companies such as Alphabet Inc.’s Google, which is developing artificial intelligence models specifically for the country. Its products will be able to process speech and text in more than 100 local languages, a move that will expand internet access to the English-speaking minority in the country’s cities.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said during a visit to India last year that countries such as India should support artificial intelligence research in a way that improves government services such as health care.

“I think the most important thing is figuring out how to integrate these technologies into other services,” Altman said at the time. “I think the government is lagging behind in this area and doesn’t have the answers yet.”

Altman, who met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit, also said India is an early adopter of its generative AI service, ChatGPT.

Altman has previously called for greater regulation and said his “biggest concern” is that the technology will cause significant harm. He also said that the current version of the technology does not require major regulatory changes, but that it will happen soon.

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