OpenAI to Open Offices in Mumbai and Bengaluru, Expanding India Footprint After AI Impact Summit

OpenAI is preparing to open new offices in Mumbai and Bengaluru, extending its on-ground presence beyond the existing New Delhi base and signalling a deeper long-term push into India's rapidly expanding artificial intelligence ecosystem.

The move comes days after a series of announcements at the four-day India AI Impact Summit in New Delhi, where the company outlined fresh partnerships, user growth milestones, and education initiatives aimed specifically at the Indian market.

Speaking at the summit, CEO Sam Altman placed India at the centre of OpenAI's global strategy, pointing to the country's accelerating adoption of AI tools and supportive policy environment. Addressing a gathering of industry leaders, startups, academics, and policymakers, Altman linked OpenAI's local investments directly to India's emerging role in shaping how AI is built, deployed, and governed worldwide.

India Emerges as OpenAI's Second-Largest Market

Altman confirmed that India has become OpenAI's second-largest market by usage, with more than 100 million weekly active ChatGPT users. Indian students now make up the platform's largest student user base globally, reflecting strong uptake across universities and training institutions.

The company has already tested India-focused pricing models, including a ChatGPT Go tier priced below $5, which was later made free for a year for users in India as part of an adoption push.

OpenAI's education roadmap in the country is anchored around new partnerships with IIT Delhi and IIT Ahmedabad. Under these collaborations, AI tools such as ChatGPT Edu are being introduced into engineering, management, healthcare, and creative programmes. More than 100,000 students and faculty members are expected to gain access to generative AI training modules and research resources through these tie-ups.

New Offices to Focus on Developers, Enterprises

The planned Mumbai and Bengaluru offices are intended to strengthen OpenAI's engagement with developers, enterprises, and public institutions working on AI-led applications.

Highlighting India's advantages, Altman said the country's technology talent, optimism around AI's potential, and government backing position it to play a major role in determining how democratic AI systems are adopted at scale.

He added that the "OpenAI for India" initiative is aimed at building the infrastructure, skills, and local partnerships required to develop AI solutions tailored to Indian needs - including language diversity, education delivery, and public services.

Summit Underscores India's Growing AI Role

The India AI Impact Summit was held at the Bharat Mandapam convention complex and formed the fourth event in a government-hosted global AI series, following previous meetings at Bletchley Park, Seoul, and Paris.

Organisers expected more than 250,000 visitors, with over 300 exhibitors presenting technologies across a 70,000-square-metre exhibition area.

Global and Indian leaders including Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, and Reliance chairman Mukesh Ambani participated in key sessions. French President Emmanuel Macron also joined Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the summit, underlining the event's significance as a platform for AI diplomacy, policy dialogue, and commercial announcements.

Wider Investment Wave Across India's AI Ecosystem

OpenAI's expansion comes alongside a broader wave of India-focused AI investments by global technology companies.

Nvidia announced a partnership with Larsen & Toubro to develop a gigawatt-scale sovereign AI factory, including GPU clusters planned in Chennai and Mumbai to support high-intensity workloads tied to national priorities.

AMD also disclosed a collaboration with Tata Consultancy Services to design rack-scale AI infrastructure based on its Helios platform.

Meanwhile, private equity firm Blackstone acquired a majority stake in Indian AI startup Neysa as part of a $600 million equity raise, with the company planning to deploy more than 20,000 GPUs.

Taken together, these initiatives highlight how India's AI ecosystem is attracting sustained global and domestic investment across infrastructure, applications, and talent development - setting the stage for deeper industry participation in the coming years.