India has become one of the most important markets in the global race to scale consumer AI. Sam Altman says the country now has 100 million weekly active ChatGPT users, a figure that places India near the center of OpenAI's growth story.
The disclosure came as OpenAI prepared to take part in the five-day India AI Impact Summit in New Delhi, beginning Monday. For OpenAI and its rivals, India is no longer just a large potential market. It is already a major base of daily and weekly AI use.
Why India's ChatGPT numbers matter
Altman said India is ChatGPT's second-largest user base after the United States. That ranking matters because it shows how quickly the service has moved from global curiosity to mainstream tool in a country with more than a billion internet users.
OpenAI has been working to strengthen its position in India. The company opened a New Delhi office in August 2025 after months of groundwork, and it has also adapted its pricing for a price-sensitive market.
One key step was the rollout of a sub-$5 ChatGPT Go tier. That plan was later made free for a year for Indian users, a move that fits the broader push to widen access before monetization becomes easier or more mature.
The Indian audience is also important because ChatGPT's overall usage has been rising sharply. The platform reached 800 million weekly active users as of October 2025 and was reported to be approaching 900 million.
Students are driving a major share of adoption
Altman also pointed to students as a central reason for ChatGPT's growth in India. He said India has the largest number of student users of ChatGPT globally.
That student base is not just relevant for OpenAI. Other leading AI companies are also competing to make their tools part of learning workflows and classroom habits.
Google has made its own push in the same market. In September 2025, it offered Indian students a free one-year subscription to its AI Pro plan. Separately, Chris Phillips, Google's vice president and general manager for education, said last month that India accounts for the highest global usage of Gemini for learning.
The pattern is clear from the facts Altman and others highlighted: education is becoming one of the main proving grounds for AI tools in India. Students are using these systems at scale, and major companies see that behavior as strategically important.
The hard part is turning usage into impact
Large user numbers do not automatically translate into broad economic gains. The same growth that makes India attractive to AI firms also exposes the harder questions around access, infrastructure, and practical deployment.
India's price-sensitive market creates a challenge for monetization. Infrastructure constraints also make large-scale deployment more complex than in developed economies, according to the source article.
The Indian government is trying to address some of those gaps through initiatives such as the IndiaAI Mission. That national program is aimed at expanding computing capacity, supporting startups, and accelerating AI adoption in public services.
Altman framed the stakes around access and broad participation. In his article, he wrote:
"With its focus on access, practical Al literacy, and the infrastructure that supports widespread adoption, India is well positioned to broaden who benefits from the technology and to help shape how democratic AI is adopted at scale,"
He also warned that uneven access could limit who benefits from AI's economic upside. In his words:
"Given India's size, it also risks forfeiting a vital opportunity to advance democratic AI in emerging markets around the world,"
That warning points to the core tension. India can help define how AI spreads across emerging markets, but only if adoption is matched by access, infrastructure, and practical use.
OpenAI is moving closer to the Indian government
Altman signaled that OpenAI plans to deepen its work with the Indian government. He wrote that the company would soon announce new partnerships focused on expanding access to AI across the country.
He did not provide details. But he said the aim would be to widen reach and help more people put AI tools to practical use.
The India AI Impact Summit gives that message a broader stage. The event is expected to bring together global technology and political leaders, including Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, Sundar Pichai of Google, and senior Indian business figures such as Mukesh Ambani and Nandan Nilekani.
Political leaders including Emmanuel Macron, Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva are also expected to attend. Their presence underscores India's ambition to be a central player in global AI debates.
For OpenAI, the timing is important. India already supplies a huge user base, and the next phase is about whether that scale can turn into durable engagement, useful partnerships, and wider access.
OpenAI did not respond to a request for comment.