OpenAI Brings API Inference Residency To India To Deepen Enterprise AI Adoption

ChatGPT maker OpenAI has introduced local inference and data processing for its APIs in India, adding to its efforts to expand the commercialisation of ChatGPT in its largest market.

For context, local data inferencing allows businesses to ensure that both API requests and the computing required to generate responses take place within India for supported workloads. It is initially available for the GPT-6 Luna model and extends OpenAI’s existing data residency options in the country.

OpenAI’s India enterprise head Nitin Bawankule pointed out that local inference gives businesses greater control over where their data is processed and could help more organisations move from experimenting with AI to deploying it in their day-to-day operations.

“Some Indian businesses have not fully deployed AI for important work because they need the information involved to be processed within the country,” Bawankule said.

To use the new offering, customers need to create a new API project, select India as the location for both data storage and processing, and use the corresponding India regional endpoint.

With the launch, India joins Australia and Japan as the latest markets where OpenAI has introduced API inference residency.

Global AI Giants Push For Data Localisation In India

Data localisation has emerged as an important consideration in enterprise AI adoption. While global AI models offer advanced capabilities, businesses handling sensitive information require a greater understanding of where their data is going.

Storage and processing of data before model deployment is something that cannot be compromised from a security perspective for banks, financial institutions and government agencies. For these clients, data residency and infrastructure requirements can limit the use of international frontier AI models in production environments.

OpenAI is not the first international AI company looking to address India’s data localisation requirements.

In August, Anthropic announced plans to bring in-country inference for its Claude AI models to India through Amazon Bedrock, AWS’ managed service for building generative AI applications. The move was aimed at addressing data residency and infrastructure requirements that have kept banks, financial institutions and government agencies from deploying international AI models in production.

Anthropic has since made similar data residency capabilities available for certain models on AWS Bedrock.

For Indian AI startups such as Sarvam AI, locally hosted inference has also been an important differentiator when competing with global AI players. However, the entry of OpenAI and Anthropic into this segment could narrow that advantage as international companies begin offering similar capabilities in the country.

For OpenAI, data inferencing is another piece of its India revenue. The AI giant has established a strong hold on the Indian market, where more than 10 Cr people interact with ChatGPT on a weekly basis. The company is looking to monetise its India holding.

OpenAI Expands Its Business Offering On ChatGPT

In a bid to deepen its engagement with businesses, OpenAI introduced Businesses in ChatGPT, a beta offering that allows businesses to claim and manage their profiles through a new Business Hub. Companies can update their information, add product feeds and access aggregated insights into how users discover and engage with them on ChatGPT.

These insights include business mentions, website clicks and discovery topics across conversations where their websites are cited.

OpenAI has also introduced Business Agents, which allow customers to interact with businesses, explore their offerings and ask product-related questions directly within ChatGPT. However, the feature is initially available only to eligible ecommerce and online service businesses in the US.

Businesses in markets where ChatGPT is available, including India, can claim their profiles through Business Hub, subject to eligibility and verification requirements.

OpenAI’s broader efforts to expand its presence in India include investments and partnerships to develop domestic AI infrastructure.

Earlier this year, the company partnered with Tata Group to develop domestic AI data centre capacity. It has also extended data residency capabilities for certain models through AWS Bedrock.

Edited by Akshit Pushkarna

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