India has become a huge deal for OpenAI and its AI tools. Recently, Sam Altman, OpenAI’s CEO, said that more than 100 million people in the country are using ChatGPT every week. This is a huge number from the business angle, as it is actually the biggest user base in Asia and second only to the United States worldwide.
Out of about 800 million people using ChatGPT globally every week, a big chunk comes from India.
India emerges as a key AI market for OpenAI
Altman talked about all this right before the India AI Impact Summit in New Delhi. Leaders from all over the world gathered there to talk about where AI is headed, especially in education, government, and business.
Why India is a major growth engine for ChatGPT
A lot of this comes down to India’s young, tech-savvy crowd. With more than a billion people online and one of the world’s largest student populations, it’s the perfect place for AI to take off. Altman points out that no other country has more students using ChatGPT.
Indian students use it for everything – homework, coding help, preparing for competitive exams, learning new languages, and writing research papers. On top of that, India ranks fourth worldwide for using OpenAI’s Prism, a free tool for scientific research and collaboration.
Affordable pricing strategy for Indian users
OpenAI did not just sit back and watch the numbers grow. To really connect with Indian users, they rolled out special pricing—ChatGPT Go was less than USD 5 per month, and they even made it free for a year.
That move was way easier for people to jump in and try. OpenAI also opened a New Delhi office in August 2025, showing they are in it for the long haul.
Google’s Gemini also targets Indian students
OpenAI is not the only company eyeing India’s massive AI audience. Google’s been pushing its Gemini chatbot hard, especially among students and young people. India is now one of Gemini’s top markets for education. Google has teamed up with Reliance Jio to give free Gemini AI Pro access to over 500 million Jio users for 18 months, mainly focusing on people aged 18 to 25.
India’s growing role in the global AI race
People usually talk about the US and China when it comes to AI, but India’s right up there now. It is not just students – professionals and researchers across the country are turning to AI for work, research, and innovation.
With 100 million people using ChatGPT every week and AI catching on in every field, India has become one of the most important markets for AI anywhere in the world.
