• Source:JND
Add as a preferred

OpenAI India: During a fireside chat with India’s IT Minister, Ashwini Vaishnaw, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman shared his thoughts on India’s growing influence in the artificial intelligence space. Altman acknowledged that India is quickly becoming a key player in the AI revolution, calling it one of the most important markets for AI development. He went on to reveal that OpenAI’s user base in India has tripled over the past year, making it the company's second-largest market globally.

India’s progress in AI is particularly impressive, according to Altman, as the country is contributing to the AI ecosystem at every level—from chips to models, and the development of innovative applications. He praised India’s efforts, noting that “India is an incredibly important market for AI in general, for OpenAI in particular, it’s our second biggest market. Tripled users here in the last year, but mostly seeing what people in India are building with AI at all levels of the stack, chips, models, you know, all of the incredible applications.”

Altman believes India’s position as a rising leader in AI is well-deserved. “I think India should be one of the leaders of the AI revolution. But it’s really quite amazing to see what the country has done… embraced the technology and is building the entire stack of things on top of it,” he said.

ALSO READ: Introducing The Minimal Phone: A Modern BlackBerry With E-Ink Display, No Distractions, And Classic QWERTY

 

This marks Altman’s second visit to India in two years, coming at a pivotal moment for OpenAI. The company is facing increasing competition from Chinese AI firm DeepSeek and is also dealing with legal issues in India, including ongoing copyright disputes. Given these challenges, his visit might have multiple motivations, including navigating these legal hurdles.

Addressing a previous statement he made about India’s ability to develop its own AI models, Altman clarified his position. A comment he made a few years ago about India not trying to build its own AI model was reportedly taken out of context. Altman explained, “In reference to the comment I made in India a few years ago about the cost of building foundational AI models, it was taken out of context. That was a certain time of scaling AI, and I still think that pre-trained foundational AI models are expensive. But, one of the most exciting things that have happened in the industry is that there’s a lot that we’ve done now in distillation of AI models.”

He went on to explain how advancements in AI technology are making smaller models more accessible: “There’s a lot that we’ve done with small models, and reasoning models today are not cheap, but still doable. This can lead to an explosion of creativity, and India should be a leader there.”

India is not only a growing force in AI but is also making strides toward developing its own AI model. Minister Vaishnaw revealed that India plans to launch its own AI model within the next 10 months. This initiative will be supported by a powerful computational facility, featuring 18,693 GPUs. The government aims to make AI technology more affordable and accessible, with plans to offer AI usage at prices under Rs 100 per hour, thanks to a 40% government subsidy.

Altman’s praise of India’s progress comes at a time when the country’s role in the global AI landscape is expanding rapidly, positioning it to be a major player in the future of AI innovation.

ALSO READ: WhatsApp To Roll Out New Feature: Edit Album Captions After Sending—What To Expect