From Tokyo to Delhi: OpenAI's CEO Sam Altman woos Indian market in AI push

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has declared India the company's most critical international market.

Altman's statement came after a year that saw OpenAI's user base in India triple, marking the end of a multi-day tour of Asia that included stops in Tokyo and Delhi.

India: a vital battleground in the AI arena

Altman's global journey arrives at a pivotal moment, as OpenAI's dominance in the AI space is increasingly challenged by competitors, most notably the Chinese startup DeepSeek.

India represents a crucial arena in this competition, boasting one of the world's largest talent pools of AI developers and holding immense strategic importance for tech giants such as Meta Platforms Inc., Alphabet Inc.’s Google, and emerging startups like Anthropic.

Courting India's tech leaders and government officials

"India is an incredibly important market for AI and particularly for OpenAI," Altman emphasized during a "fireside chat" with India's technology minister, Ashwini Vaishnaw.

The event drew a distinguished audience of entrepreneurs, including Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma and Unacademy's Gaurav Munjal.

Altman engaged in multiple events and meetings with government officials in New Delhi.

Securing support in the face of rising competition

As a prominent figure in the AI landscape, Altman recognizes the imperative to secure the support of developers and entrepreneurs.

This support is key to reassuring backers and potential investors about OpenAI's future prospects.

Notably, Indian startups like Yotta and Ola Krutrim are actively exploring and implementing DeepSeek's lower-cost, open-source models to develop bots and applications.

Addressing the 'elephant in the room': DeepSeek and future plans

Ankur Jain, co-founder of health care startup Jivi.AI, told Bloomberg, "DeepSeek was the conspicuous elephant in the room."

Jain revealed that Altman stated OpenAI API costs have dropped to one-tenth in the past year, and trending to repeat the same this year.

To a question on whether OpenAI will open source its models, he said ‘we’re planning something.’”