OpenAI CEO Sam Altman Reveals India Boasts 100 Million Weekly ChatGPT Users
According to the Economic Desk of Webangah News Agency, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman confirmed that India has achieved a substantial milestone with 100 million weekly active users engaging with ChatGPT, making it one of OpenAI’s largest user bases globally. This revelation was made just before Altman’s participation in the five-day AI Influence Summit commencing in New Delhi, where he is set to join other leading artificial intelligence executives.
In an article published in the Times of India on Sunday, Altman highlighted the accelerating adoption of the AI tool across the country. This expansion aligns with OpenAI’s strategic focus on capturing the massive young demographic and burgeoning internet user base exceeding one billion in India for worldwide growth.
OpenAI, having completed preparatory work over several months, established a physical presence in New Delhi in August 2025, tailoring its strategy to India’s highly price-sensitive market. This included introducing a new, lower-cost tier called ChatGPT Go, which was initially offered free to Indian users for a full year.
Altman emphasized that India stands as the second-largest base of ChatGPT users worldwide, surpassed only by the United States, underscoring the South Asian nation’s increasing importance in OpenAI’s global strategy. This data point emerges as worldwide usage of ChatGPT continues to climb, reportedly reaching 800 million weekly active users by October 2025, with figures nearing 900 million.
The CEO also specifically acknowledged the crucial role of students in this user growth, stating that India holds the highest number of student users for ChatGPT internationally. Indian students are proving vital in the competition among major AI firms vying to integrate their technologies into academic curricula and learning workflows.
Rival company Google has similarly targeted this market, offering Indian students a free one-year subscription to its AI Pro plan starting in September 2025. Chris Phillips, Vice President and Managing Director of Education at Google, noted in an interview last month that India currently exhibits the highest global usage rate of the Gemini model for educational purposes.
Altman stated in his writing that India is well-positioned to leverage the benefits of this technology and help shape the large-scale adoption of democratized artificial intelligence, provided it focuses on access, practical AI literacy, and supportive infrastructure.
Furthermore, Altman confirmed that OpenAI intends to deepen its engagement with the Indian government, announcing that the company will soon disclose new partnerships aimed at expanding AI accessibility nationwide. While details remain undisclosed, the focus will be on broadening access and enabling more individuals to practically utilize AI technologies.
