OpenAI hires second sales executive from SpaceX in a month

OpenAI (OPENAI) has appointed Ismail Elmas as vice president of sales for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, marking the AI developer’s second sales hire from Elon Musk’s SpaceX since September, Bloomberg reported.

Elmas, who is based in Munich, previously worked at coding automation startup Cursor, which was acquired by SpaceX for $60B in August. Before joining Cursor in April, Elmas spent more than two decades at software and cybersecurity companies, including Rubrik (RBRK) and Zscaler (ZS).

OpenAI hired Brian McCarthy, another senior Cursor executive, as its vice president of worldwide sales last month.

The ChatGPT developer is seeking to expand its commercial presence in Europe, where officials have become increasingly reluctant to rely on U.S. technology companies. As it prepares for a potential public listing, OpenAI is also looking to increase revenue from enterprise customers and newer channels such as advertising.

In the Middle East, OpenAI has established ties with the United Arab Emirates, where it is planning a large data-center project. In Africa, the company faces growing competition from Chinese AI developers such as DeepSeek.

Recommended For You

Register for free to keep reading.

Create a free account to get unlimited breaking news and alerts when your stocks move.