OpenAI Hires Cursor Executives to Expand Global Sales

OpenAI appointed Ismail Elmas as vice president to lead sales across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Elmas joins the company from Cursor, a coding-automation firm acquired by Space Exploration Technologies Corp. for $60 billion in August. He is the second senior Cursor alumnus recruited by the company in two months, following the appointment of Brian McCarthy as vice president of worldwide sales.

These leadership changes come as the company seeks to increase corporate revenue and strengthen its European presence despite regulatory wariness of U.S. technology. To support this expansion, the company is developing a major data center in the United Arab Emirates. These efforts occur amid rising competition from Chinese rivals, such as DeepSeek, in Africa.

Simultaneously, the company faces legal challenges from co-founder Elon Musk. Musk alleges that the transition to a for-profit model betrays the original nonprofit principles of the organization.