OpenAI to launch office in India this year

OpenAI, the Microsoft-backed company behind ChatGPT, will open its first office in India later this year, establishing a base in New Delhi, according to a recent report by Reuters.

The company has been registered as a legal entity in India and has already begun hiring a local team, it confirmed in a statement shared with Reuters on August 22. 

India, which has close to a billion internet users, is now ChatGPT's second-largest market by user numbers. According to recent market data by OpenAI, India has the largest population of student users on ChatGPT worldwide, and weekly active users of ChatGPT in India have quadrupled over the past year.

Earlier this week, OpenAI rolled out its cheapest monthly plan globally in the country at $4.60, aimed at increasing accessibility among Indian users.

The expansion comes as OpenAI faces legal challenges in India, where several publishers have accused the company of using their content without permission to train its models. OpenAI has denied the allegations, as per Reuters report.

Competition in the Indian market for AI is intensifying, with Google's Gemini and the U.S. startup Perplexity offering free access to advanced services to attract users.