ChatGPT Maker OpenAI to Open First India Office

OpenAI plans to establish its first corporate office in India by the end of 2025, the artificial-intelligence company said, betting that the world's most populous country will become a crucial growth engine as competition in the AI market intensifies.

The San Francisco-based maker of ChatGPT will open the office in New Delhi, marking a significant expansion for a company that already considers India its largest market outside the United States. OpenAI said user spending in India has surged 800% year-over-year, underscoring the country's appetite for AI tools.

OpenAI Considers India as a Key Market

The office announcement comes days after OpenAI launched "ChatGPT Go," a cut-price subscription service tailored for Indian consumers at ₹399 ($4.75) monthly, a fraction of the $20 charged for similar services in developed markets. The pricing reflects OpenAI's strategy to convert India's massive user base into steady revenue while establishing deeper roots in one of the world's fastest-growing technology markets.

"India has all the ingredients to become a global AI leader: amazing tech talent, a world-class developer ecosystem, and strong government support through the IndiaAI Mission," said Sam Altman, OpenAI's chief executive. "Opening our first office is an important first step in our commitment to make advanced AI more accessible across the country."

The move positions OpenAI to capitalize on India's projected $6 billion AI market by 2027, according to research firm IDC. While the consumer subscription grabs attention, industry executives say the real opportunity lies in enterprise sales, where OpenAI is actively recruiting senior sales directors to pursue business-to-business deals.

OpenAI has spent months building relationships with Indian policymakers and business leaders. The company appointed Pragya Misra, a former Meta executive, as its public policy lead and brought on Rishi Jaitly, former head of Twitter India, as a senior advisor to help navigate government relations.

The expansion aligns with India's $1.25 billion IndiaAI Mission, a government initiative aimed at making the country a global AI hub. "OpenAI's decision to establish a presence in India reflects the country's growing leadership in digital innovation and AI adoption," said Ashwini Vaishnaw, India's minister for electronics and information technology.

The partnership represents a strategic shift for OpenAI, which increasingly views India not merely as a market to serve but as a base from which to build. The company plans to hold its first Education Summit and Developer Day in India later this year, signaling deeper engagement with the local technology ecosystem.

Still, challenges loom. OpenAI faces intensifying competition from rivals including Google's Gemini and startup Perplexity, both of which are also courting Indian users and developers. Legal headwinds have emerged as well, with news agency Asian News International and a group of publishers suing OpenAI in Delhi High Court over alleged copyright infringement for using their content to train AI models.

The pricing strategy also highlights the delicate balance OpenAI must strike in price-sensitive markets. While the $4.75 monthly fee makes ChatGPT more accessible to Indian consumers, it raises questions about whether such pricing can generate sufficient revenue to justify the company's massive investments in computing infrastructure and research.