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OpenAI warns Indian startups against recency bias as AI reshapes what businesses can survive
Startups
Published on 15 May 2026
Nearly 90% of AI adopters cut outsourcing spend
OpenAI’s Pragya Misra urged Indian startups to build beyond today’s urgencies, warning against “recency bias” in an AI-first market. Speaking in Gurugram, she said even business process outsourcing and basic customer service operations could be disrupted within three years. Misra emphasized that the real opportunity is in workflows, context, and integrations around AI—not only the models. She also highlighted India as OpenAI’s testing ground, citing massive usage across students and regional diversity.
- Misra said founders must solve problems expected in 6-12 months
- She warned simple customer service operations may disappear within three years
- Z47 OpenAI and Zinnov found nearly 90% of mature AI adopters cut outsourcing
- OpenAI sees workflows and integrations as crucial for AI usefulness
- OpenAI sent researchers to study Indian student usage for Study Mode
- OpenAI reports 100 million weekly active users in India and heavy Codex use
Read the full story at The Economic Times
This summarization was done by Beige for a story published on 
The Economic Times