GeekWire On location at OpenAI in Bellevue, with CTO of Applications Vijaye Raji
11 snips
Mar 7, 2026 Vijaye Raji, CTO of Applications at OpenAI and former Statsig CEO, leads OpenAI's Bellevue office and product work. He talks about why Bellevue and the Pacific Northwest attract AI talent. He compares building products at OpenAI to past big-tech roles. He describes scaling offices, hiring strategies, and growth around Codex, ChatGPT, infrastructure, and partnerships.
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OpenAI Bets On Seattle As A Strategic Hub
- OpenAI is intentionally investing in the Pacific Northwest as a long-term engineering hub.
- Vijaye Raji emphasized Seattle/Bellevue as a center of gravity for products, hiring, and partnerships after Statsig's acquisition.
Vijaye's Local Journey From Microsoft To OpenAI
- Vijaye Raji described his 23-year local history from Microsoft to Facebook to founding Statsig and hiring only locally.
- He said Statsig was built in Bellevue and three months after acquisition he joined OpenAI, which led to this office.
AI Wave Is Broader And Moves Faster Than Past Shifts
- Raji said the AI wave has broader scope and faster pace than prior platform shifts like cloud or social.
- He highlighted AI's cross-vertical impact and how it changes how people build software and businesses scale.
