India 100 Million Weekly Active ChatGPT Users
India now has 100 million weekly active ChatGPT users, making it one of the largest markets globally for OpenAI, Chief Executive Sam Altman said ahead of a government hosted artificial intelligence summit.
Altman shared the figures in an article published in The Times of India on Sunday, just before the start of the five day India AI Impact Summit in New Delhi. He is attending the gathering alongside senior executives from several leading AI companies.
India Emerges As Key Growth Market
Altman said India represents ChatGPT’s second largest user base after the United States. The disclosure highlights the country’s growing importance in OpenAI’s global strategy.
The surge comes as OpenAI and its rivals look to India’s young population and more than one billion internet users to drive expansion. The company opened a New Delhi office in August 2025 after months of preparation. Moreover, it tailored pricing for India’s cost conscious market by introducing a ChatGPT Go tier priced below 5 dollars, which it later made free for one year for Indian users.
Globally, ChatGPT usage has climbed sharply. The platform reached 800 million weekly active users in October 2025 and is reportedly nearing 900 million.
Students Drive Adoption
Altman emphasised that students have played a central role in adoption. He said India has the largest number of student ChatGPT users worldwide.
Technology companies increasingly view Indian students as a crucial growth segment. For instance, Google offered Indian students a free one year subscription to its AI Pro plan in September 2025. In addition, Chris Phillips, the company’s vice president and general manager for education, said last month that India records the highest global usage of Gemini for learning.
Altman wrote that India’s focus on access, practical AI literacy and supporting infrastructure positions it well to broaden who benefits from artificial intelligence.
Monetisation And Policy Challenges
Despite rapid adoption, AI companies face challenges in converting usage into sustained economic returns in India. The market remains price sensitive, and infrastructure constraints complicate large scale deployment.
Government initiatives such as the IndiaAI Mission aim to expand computing capacity, support startups and accelerate AI adoption in public services. However, uneven access and uptake could concentrate economic gains in limited segments of society, Altman warned.
He also signalled that OpenAI plans to deepen engagement with the Indian government and announce new partnerships to widen access. He did not provide further details but indicated that the focus would centre on enabling broader practical use of AI tools.
The summit is expected to draw global technology and political leaders, reinforcing India’s ambition to shape international AI debates. For companies like OpenAI, the country’s vast user base is becoming an increasingly influential force in how the technology evolves.