Meet Yash Kumar, the Indian techie behind OpenAI's ChatGPT agent
What's the story
Yash Kumar, an Indian-origin techie and member of technical staff at OpenAI, is a key figure in the development of the company's latest innovation - ChatGPT agent. The cutting-edge tool can perform a wide range of computer-based tasks for users. These include automatically managing calendars, online shopping, creating editable presentations and slideshows, and even executing code. During a recent demo with The Verge, Kumar and research lead Isa Fulford showcased the capabilities of this revolutionary tool.
Tool capabilities
ChatGPT agent has access to 'an entire computer'
Kumar explained that the ChatGPT agent has access to "an entire computer," not just a browser. It is a combination of various functions from OpenAI's earlier tools, such as Operator and Deep Research. ChatGPT agent is designed to provide users with a seamless experience by optimizing for "hard tasks." "Even if it takes 15 minutes, half an hour, it's quite a big speed-up compared to how long it would take you to do it," said Fulford.
Educational history
Kumar's educational background and career at OpenAI
Kumar, who hails from India, studied Computer Science at IIIT Hyderabad, one of the top engineering institutes in India. He joined OpenAI in November 2023 and now works out of the company's San Francisco headquarters. Before that, Kumar spent eight years at Google as a software engineer, followed by leadership roles as Head of Engineering at Scratch and Director at DoorDash.