India Becomes ChatGPT’s Largest Market Globally, User Base Doubles Since January

India has become ChatGPT’s largest market globally by weekly active users, with its local user base doubling since January 2026, OpenAI India MD Prabhjeet Singh said.

Speaking to ET, Singh attributed the growth to Indian users increasingly integrating ChatGPT into their everyday workflows and finding more uses for the chatbot.

The milestone follows OpenAI cofounder and CEO Sam Altman’s description of India during his visit last year as the company’s fastest-growing market and second-largest globally by users. In February 2026, OpenAI said India had more than 100 Mn weekly ChatGPT users.

To reach more users beyond major cities, OpenAI is expanding ChatGPT’s Indian-language capabilities and focusing on Android-first product development.

While the company expects paid subscriptions to grow as users find more value in its products, Singh said its immediate priority is expanding AI’s impact. OpenAI is also expected to make announcements concerning UPI and payments in the coming weeks.

Expanding India Footprint

OpenAI announced its first India office in Delhi NCR and began local hiring in August 2025. At the India AI Impact Summit in February, it unveiled plans for Mumbai and Bengaluru offices and launched OpenAI for India to expand access, infrastructure, and enterprise adoption.

Its partnership with TCS’ HyperVault data centre business starts with 100 megawatts (MW) of capacity, potentially scaling to 1 gigawatt (GW). Singh said OpenAI would consider more capacity as infrastructure comes online.

The capacity will address enterprise data residency and security requirements, while privacy and returns on investment remain key adoption considerations. OpenAI models are also available through AWS’ Amazon Bedrock for local inference, keeping request processing within India.

Enterprises Move Beyond Pilots

Singh said enterprises, global capability centres (GCCs), and startups are moving beyond pilots to production deployments, citing JioHotstar and Cars24.

India is also among Codex’s largest and fastest-growing markets, with significant developer use emerging from tier-II cities, he added.

OpenAI is engaging with government agencies, banks, and financial institutions to strengthen cybersecurity and protect critical infrastructure against AI agent misuse. Singh also backed clear AI regulation to build confidence among consumers, enterprises, and developers.

OpenAI is also expanding advertising on ChatGPT in India. Singh said ads would help support free and lower-priced access alongside paid subscriptions.

He added that advertisers would not have access to users’ personal information and that advertisements would not influence ChatGPT’s responses.

The company has partnered with Razorpay to help Indian brands advertise on ChatGPT. Under the partnership, Razorpay’s growth marketing platform Engage helps brands prepare product catalogues, launch and manage campaigns, and measure performance.

Early participating brands include Tanishq, Fastrack, Traya, Tata Neu, Rivaah by Tanishq, Shaadi.com, Axis Max Life, Palmonas, and Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS).

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