India has reached 100 million weekly active ChatGPT users, according to Sam Altman.

17 Feb, 2026

India has reached 100 million weekly active ChatGPT users, according to Sam Altman.

In a Sunday column for The Times of India, Sam Altman highlighted ChatGPT’s accelerating growth in India as OpenAI prepared to participate in the five-day India AI Impact Summit in New Delhi. Altman is attending the event alongside senior executives from several leading global AI firms.

The surge is part of OpenAI’s broader expansion strategy in India, where a youthful population and more than a billion internet users offer major growth potential. After months of groundwork, the company opened a New Delhi office in August 2025 and adapted its approach for the country’s price-conscious market, introducing a sub-$5 ChatGPT Go plan that was later made free for a year for Indian users.

Altman said India has become ChatGPT’s second-largest market after the United States, emphasizing its growing role in OpenAI’s global strategy. Worldwide, ChatGPT’s user base has climbed rapidly, reaching 800 million weekly active users by October 2025 and reportedly approaching 900 million.

He also identified students as a major force behind adoption, noting that India has the highest number of student ChatGPT users globally.

More broadly, Indian students have emerged as a key target group for AI companies seeking to embed their tools in classrooms and learning workflows. Google has pursued the segment as well, offering Indian students a free one-year subscription to its AI Pro plan in September 2025. India also accounts for the highest global usage of Gemini for learning, according to Chris Phillips, Google’s vice president and general manager for education.

“With its focus on access, practical AI literacy, and the infrastructure that supports widespread adoption, India is well positioned to expand who benefits from this technology and to help shape how democratic AI is deployed at scale,” Altman wrote.

At the same time, ChatGPT’s rapid rise in India highlights a broader challenge for AI firms: converting widespread usage into sustained economic returns. Government initiatives such as the IndiaAI Mission — aimed at expanding computing capacity, supporting startups, and accelerating AI adoption in public services — are intended to bridge that gap. Yet India’s price sensitivity and infrastructure constraints have made monetization and large-scale implementation more complex than in developed markets.

“Given India’s size, it also risks forfeiting a vital opportunity to advance democratic AI in emerging markets around the world,” Altman cautioned, warning that unequal access could concentrate AI-driven gains in the hands of a few.

He added that OpenAI plans to deepen its engagement with the Indian government, with new partnerships expected to be announced soon to widen AI access across the country. While details were not disclosed, Altman said the focus would be on expanding reach and enabling more practical use of AI tools.

The India AI Impact Summit is expected to convene prominent technology and political leaders, including Dario Amodei of Anthropic, Sundar Pichai, and Indian business leaders such as Mukesh Ambani and Nandan Nilekani. Political figures including Emmanuel Macron, Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva are also expected to attend, underscoring India’s ambition to shape global AI policy debates.

For AI companies worldwide, including OpenAI, the summit reflects how India’s enormous and growing user base is beginning to influence the trajectory of the technology.

OpenAI did not respond to a request for comment.

India has reached 100 million weekly active ChatGPT users, according to Sam Altman.

India has reached 100 million weekly active ChatGPT users, according to Sam Altman.

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