Meet Indian-origin techie, ex-Google employee, leading OpenAI's new ChatGPT Agent tool, he studied at...

OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, has introduced a new capability in its world-popular chatbot -- dubbed the ChatGPT Agent. The tool can perform digital tasks by itself without requiring constant intervention of the user. The project is being spearheaded by Yash Kumar, an Indian-origin techie and graduate of the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Hyderabad. But, who is Yash Kumar? Let us tell you about him in brief.

Where has Yash worked previously?
Yash is a member of technical staff at OpenAI's headquarters in San Francisco, California, currently serving as project lead for the ChatGPT Agent feature. He had joined the Sam Altman-led company in 2023, and previously worked with major tech firms such as Google, where he spent eight years. He has also worked at the American online food delivery company DoorDash, where he held the position of head of the merchant engineering division. Besides, he oversaw several teams including engineering, product, and design at Scratch.

What is the ChatGPT Agent tool?
The ChatGPT Agent tool is designed to automate complex and multistep digital tasks on behalf of the user. It can think, plan, and act for you, switching between browsers, applications, and terminals to finish tasks end-to-end. It has been rolled out to users but remains a work-in-progress, continuously undergoing improvements by top minds at OpenAI. While the feature is mostly autonomous, it does require user approvals for high-stakes actions such as purchases or logging into certain websites. The feature was officially launched by OpenAI on Thursday, July 17.