OpenAI has revealed plans to open its first Indian office shortly after unveiling a ChatGPT plan designed for Indian users, aiming to leverage the nation’s booming AI market.
The company will establish a local team and corporate office in New Delhi in the upcoming months, following recent recruitment efforts in the area. In April 2024, OpenAI appointed Pragya Mishra, former Truecaller and Meta executive, as its public policy and partnerships lead in India. They also added former Twitter India head Rishi Jaitly as a senior advisor to engage with the Indian government on AI policy.
India, the world’s second-largest internet and smartphone market, presents a strategic opportunity for OpenAI, which competes with major tech firms like Google and Meta, alongside AI startups such as Perplexity.
OpenAI is building a local team to “strengthen relationships with local partners, governments, businesses, developers, and academic institutions.” The company plans to gather user feedback to adapt its products for the Indian market and develop specific features for the country.
“Establishing our first office and creating a local team is a key initial step in our dedication to making advanced AI accessible across India and developing AI with and for India,” stated Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI.
Additionally, OpenAI announced plans to host its first Education Summit in India this month and its first Developer Day later this year.
While India is a critical market for OpenAI, the company faces challenges, including converting free users into paid subscribers. Like other significant AI entities, it needs to tackle the monetization issue in a price-conscious South Asian market.
Earlier this week, OpenAI launched its sub-$5 ChatGPT plan, ChatGPT Go, priced at ₹399 per month (around $4.75), marking its initial ChatGPT plan in India to attract a broader audience. This move followed Perplexity’s partnership with Indian telecom giant Bharti Airtel to offer Airtel’s over 360 million subscribers access to Perplexity Pro for 12 months.
OpenAI also encounters challenges in integrating with Indian businesses. In November, ANI sued OpenAI for allegedly using its copyrighted news content without authorization. A group of Indian publishers joined the lawsuit in January.
Nonetheless, the Indian government is actively supporting AI initiatives to enhance the nation’s global AI standing, which OpenAI intends to leverage.
“India has the potential to be a global AI leader — an impressive tech workforce, a world-class developer ecosystem, and robust government backing through the IndiaAI Mission,” Altman remarked.
India is not OpenAI’s first Asian office. The company has previously opened offices in locations such as Japan, Singapore, and South Korea. OpenAI competitor Anthropic chose Japan over India as an Asian hub, recently setting up in Tokyo rather than New Delhi.
One reason AI companies do not prioritize India as an early market is the challenge of securing enterprise customers, a Silicon Valley-based investor informed TechCrunch.
“OpenAI’s decision to set up in India underscores the country’s growing role in digital innovation and AI adoption,” said Indian IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw in a statement. “Under the IndiaAI Mission, we are creating a framework for trusted and inclusive AI, and welcome OpenAI’s collaboration in advancing this vision to ensure AI benefits reach every citizen.”