OpenAI CEO Sam Altman announced that India is now the company’s second-largest market, with the user base tripling over the past year. Altman recently met with India’s IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw to discuss a low-cost AI ecosystem and India’s plans for an AI stack, including GPUs, models, and applications, with OpenAI willing to collaborate.
“I think India should be doing everything. I think India should be one of the leaders of the AI revolution”, Altman said, a reversal from last year when he cast doubt on whether the country could build a substantial model in the OpenAI space with a $10 million budget.
In January 2025, Vaishnaw praised Chinese startup DeepSeek’s AI assistant, comparing it to India’s local AI model efforts. In March 2024, India approved $1.25bn for the IndiaAI mission to fund AI startups and build AI infrastructure.
Altman plans to visit the UAE to discuss fundraising with MGX, which participated in OpenAI’s $6.6bn funding round in October 2024. OpenAI aims to raise $40bn for its Stargate project to support AI model development and infrastructure expansion. In January 2025, OpenAI and SoftBank announced the Stargate AI infrastructure project, with an initial investment of $100bn, set to increase to $500bn over four years.
Last updated: December 26th, 2025
