India has emerged as one of OpenAI’s largest global markets, boasting 100 million weekly active ChatGPT users, announced CEO Sam Altman ahead of a government-hosted AI summit.
Altman detailed ChatGPT’s expanding presence in India through an article published Sunday in the Indian English daily, Times of India. This precedes OpenAI’s formal involvement in the five-day India AI Impact Summit, commencing Monday in New Delhi, where Altman will join other senior executives from prominent AI firms.
This surge in adoption aligns with OpenAI's strategy, mirroring other AI leaders, to leverage India's vast young demographic and over a billion internet users for its global growth. OpenAI established a New Delhi office in August 2025 after extensive preliminary work and has tailored its offerings for India's cost-conscious market, notably introducing a sub-$5 ChatGPT Go tier, which was subsequently provided free for a year to Indian users.
Altman's article further revealed that India stands as ChatGPT's second-largest user base globally, trailing only the United States, underscoring the South Asian country's increasing strategic importance for OpenAI. This announcement coincides with a significant worldwide increase in ChatGPT's usage, which reached 800 million weekly active users by October 2025 and is reportedly nearing 900 million.
He also emphasized the pivotal role of students in this adoption, noting that India boasts the highest number of ChatGPT student users worldwide.
Indian students have emerged as a critical growth demographic for major AI companies, prompting competitors to integrate their tools into educational settings and learning processes. Google, for instance, has similarly focused on this market, providing Indian students with a complimentary one-year subscription to its AI Pro plan in September 2025. Chris Phillips, Google's Vice President and General Manager for Education, stated last month that India also leads globally in the usage of Gemini for learning purposes.
Altman asserted, "With its focus on access, practical Al literacy, and the infrastructure that supports widespread adoption, India is well positioned to broaden who benefits from the technology and to help shape how democratic AI is adopted at scale."
Despite ChatGPT's rapid expansion, it also underscores a significant challenge for AI firms in India: converting widespread user adoption into lasting economic value. The Indian government's initiatives, such as the IndiaAI Mission—a national undertaking designed to boost computing power, foster startups, and hasten AI integration in public services—aim to bridge these disparities. Nevertheless, India's inherently price-sensitive market and existing infrastructure limitations complicate monetization and large-scale deployment compared to more developed economies.
Altman further cautioned, "Given India’s size, it also risks forfeiting a vital opportunity to advance democratic AI in emerging markets around the world," warning that disparities in access and adoption could lead to the concentration of AI's economic benefits among a select few.
Altman also indicated OpenAI's intention to strengthen its collaboration with the Indian government, stating that the company would imminently reveal new partnerships designed to broaden AI access nationwide. While specific details were not disclosed, he emphasized that the objective is to expand reach and empower more individuals to practically utilize AI tools.
The India AI Impact Summit is anticipated to attract a diverse array of global technology and political luminaries, including Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, Google's Sundar Pichai, and prominent Indian business leaders like Mukesh Ambani and Nandan Nilekani. Political figures such as Emmanuel Macron, Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva are also slated to attend, highlighting India's aspiration to become a pivotal force in international AI discussions.
For global AI companies, including OpenAI, the summit serves as a clear indicator of how India's expansive user base is increasingly shaping the trajectory and evolution of artificial intelligence technology.
OpenAI did not provide a response when contacted for comment.
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