India overtakes the United States as ChatGPT's largest market, user base doubled in 10 months
India has overtaken the United States to become ChatGPT’s largest market by weekly active users. According to OpenAI India MD Prabhjeet Singh, the country's user base has doubled since January 2026. OpenAI reported more than 100 million weekly users in India in February, with students forming a significant part of its audience.
But how second place became first
OpenAI's growth in India has been supported by affordable pricing, local expansion and wider accessibility. The company introduced ChatGPT Go at a lower price and later offered it free for a year to eligible Indian users. It also announced new offices in Delhi NCR, Mumbai and Bengaluru. Its next priority is reaching more people through Hindi and regional-language voice support, better performance on entry-level Android phones and an Android-first approach.
The compute going up behind the users
To support its growing user base, OpenAI is investing in local computing infrastructure through a partnership with TCS's HyperVault. The initial capacity is 100 megawatts, with the potential to reach 1 gigawatt. Local infrastructure can help meet data-residency requirements for banks, insurers and government organisations. OpenAI is also seeing businesses move AI projects from testing to real-world use, while India has become a major market for its Codex coding agent.
The market where monetisation trails adoption
Despite strong user growth, converting Indian users into paying customers remains a challenge. ChatGPT is among India's most downloaded apps, but competition from platforms such as Claude is increasing. OpenAI plans to grow subscriptions while keeping access affordable through advertising on its Free and Go plans. It has partnered with Razorpay to help Indian brands advertise on ChatGPT, with several companies already participating in early campaigns.
Payments are the piece still missing
OpenAI is also working towards integrating more payment options into ChatGPT in India. A pilot launched with NPCI and Razorpay allows users to make purchases within conversations using UPI features such as UPI Reserve Pay and UPI Circle. Singh said further announcements on payments are expected soon. OpenAI is also engaging with government agencies and financial institutions to support responsible AI regulation and protect critical infrastructure.
India has overtaken the United States to become ChatGPT’s largest market by weekly active users. According to OpenAI India MD Prabhjeet Singh, the country's user base has doubled since January 2026. OpenAI reported more than 100 million weekly users in India in February, with students forming a significant part of its audience.
But how second place became first
OpenAI's growth in India has been supported by affordable pricing, local expansion and wider accessibility. The company introduced ChatGPT Go at a lower price and later offered it free for a year to eligible Indian users. It also announced new offices in Delhi NCR, Mumbai and Bengaluru. Its next priority is reaching more people through Hindi and regional-language voice support, better performance on entry-level Android phones and an Android-first approach.
The compute going up behind the users
To support its growing user base, OpenAI is investing in local computing infrastructure through a partnership with TCS's HyperVault. The initial capacity is 100 megawatts, with the potential to reach 1 gigawatt. Local infrastructure can help meet data-residency requirements for banks, insurers and government organisations. OpenAI is also seeing businesses move AI projects from testing to real-world use, while India has become a major market for its Codex coding agent.
The market where monetisation trails adoption
Despite strong user growth, converting Indian users into paying customers remains a challenge. ChatGPT is among India's most downloaded apps, but competition from platforms such as Claude is increasing. OpenAI plans to grow subscriptions while keeping access affordable through advertising on its Free and Go plans. It has partnered with Razorpay to help Indian brands advertise on ChatGPT, with several companies already participating in early campaigns.
Payments are the piece still missing
OpenAI is also working towards integrating more payment options into ChatGPT in India. A pilot launched with NPCI and Razorpay allows users to make purchases within conversations using UPI features such as UPI Reserve Pay and UPI Circle. Singh said further announcements on payments are expected soon. OpenAI is also engaging with government agencies and financial institutions to support responsible AI regulation and protect critical infrastructure.
OpenAI's growth in India has been supported by affordable pricing, local expansion and wider accessibility. The company introduced ChatGPT Go at a lower price and later offered it free for a year to eligible Indian users. It also announced new offices in Delhi NCR, Mumbai and Bengaluru. Its next priority is reaching more people through Hindi and regional-language voice support, better performance on entry-level Android phones and an Android-first approach.
The compute going up behind the users
To support its growing user base, OpenAI is investing in local computing infrastructure through a partnership with TCS's HyperVault. The initial capacity is 100 megawatts, with the potential to reach 1 gigawatt. Local infrastructure can help meet data-residency requirements for banks, insurers and government organisations. OpenAI is also seeing businesses move AI projects from testing to real-world use, while India has become a major market for its Codex coding agent.
The market where monetisation trails adoption
Despite strong user growth, converting Indian users into paying customers remains a challenge. ChatGPT is among India's most downloaded apps, but competition from platforms such as Claude is increasing. OpenAI plans to grow subscriptions while keeping access affordable through advertising on its Free and Go plans. It has partnered with Razorpay to help Indian brands advertise on ChatGPT, with several companies already participating in early campaigns.
Payments are the piece still missing
OpenAI is also working towards integrating more payment options into ChatGPT in India. A pilot launched with NPCI and Razorpay allows users to make purchases within conversations using UPI features such as UPI Reserve Pay and UPI Circle. Singh said further announcements on payments are expected soon. OpenAI is also engaging with government agencies and financial institutions to support responsible AI regulation and protect critical infrastructure.
To support its growing user base, OpenAI is investing in local computing infrastructure through a partnership with TCS's HyperVault. The initial capacity is 100 megawatts, with the potential to reach 1 gigawatt. Local infrastructure can help meet data-residency requirements for banks, insurers and government organisations. OpenAI is also seeing businesses move AI projects from testing to real-world use, while India has become a major market for its Codex coding agent.
The market where monetisation trails adoption
Despite strong user growth, converting Indian users into paying customers remains a challenge. ChatGPT is among India's most downloaded apps, but competition from platforms such as Claude is increasing. OpenAI plans to grow subscriptions while keeping access affordable through advertising on its Free and Go plans. It has partnered with Razorpay to help Indian brands advertise on ChatGPT, with several companies already participating in early campaigns.
Payments are the piece still missing
OpenAI is also working towards integrating more payment options into ChatGPT in India. A pilot launched with NPCI and Razorpay allows users to make purchases within conversations using UPI features such as UPI Reserve Pay and UPI Circle. Singh said further announcements on payments are expected soon. OpenAI is also engaging with government agencies and financial institutions to support responsible AI regulation and protect critical infrastructure.
Despite strong user growth, converting Indian users into paying customers remains a challenge. ChatGPT is among India's most downloaded apps, but competition from platforms such as Claude is increasing. OpenAI plans to grow subscriptions while keeping access affordable through advertising on its Free and Go plans. It has partnered with Razorpay to help Indian brands advertise on ChatGPT, with several companies already participating in early campaigns.
Payments are the piece still missing
OpenAI is also working towards integrating more payment options into ChatGPT in India. A pilot launched with NPCI and Razorpay allows users to make purchases within conversations using UPI features such as UPI Reserve Pay and UPI Circle. Singh said further announcements on payments are expected soon. OpenAI is also engaging with government agencies and financial institutions to support responsible AI regulation and protect critical infrastructure.
OpenAI is also working towards integrating more payment options into ChatGPT in India. A pilot launched with NPCI and Razorpay allows users to make purchases within conversations using UPI features such as UPI Reserve Pay and UPI Circle. Singh said further announcements on payments are expected soon. OpenAI is also engaging with government agencies and financial institutions to support responsible AI regulation and protect critical infrastructure.
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