OpenAI backs Indian startup Vahan to automate blue-collar hiring with voice AI

When Ashok, a caterer in Bengaluru, lost his job during the pandemic, he turned to a job search app—and ended up speaking to what sounded like a real recruiter. On the other end was Vahan’s AI-powered assistant, built on OpenAI’s technology, which helped him land a gig with Swiggy.Vahan, a Bengaluru-based startup, has partnered with OpenAI to deploy GPT-4o and GPT-4o-mini as part of its “AI recruiter,” which helps automate hiring in India’s informal workforce. The voice-based chatbot—operating over regular phone calls in Hindi and…