Over the years, American tech companies have been leveraging India's large and expanding internet user base for business growth, and OpenAI is no different. Despite OpenAI claiming that India is one of the fastest-growing markets for its ChatGPT, external data suggests that the company may be facing challenges in turning this growth into revenue.

SensorTower reported that Indian users have spent $8 million on ChatGPT subscriptions via in-app purchases since 2023, a significantly smaller amount compared to the estimated $330 million spent by U.S. users. One contributing factor to this revenue gap could be the relatively high cost of ChatGPT plans in India, with the cheapest plan priced at $20 per month, deemed expensive for the local market.

While OpenAI did not divulge specific growth details in India, the company alluded to a statement by COO Brad Lightcap indicating that India is experiencing significant growth in ChatGPT usage. Despite the current low revenue from India, there is potential for the country to become a key growth driver for OpenAI as it aims to expand to a multi-billion-user platform, considering India's huge internet user base of over 950 million people.

In a bid to reach a larger audience in India, OpenAI is reportedly exploring a collaboration with Reliance Jio, a major Indian mobile carrier. The company's ChatGPT is already seeing organic growth in the Indian market, with Appfigures data revealing that more than 20% of ChatGPT Android app downloads this year have come from India. This growth has been boosted by the popularity of features like the revamped image generator, which gained attention for its ability to create realistic Ghibli-style art.

Despite challenges in monetization, ChatGPT boasts a global user base of over 500 million weekly users, cementing its position as a widely-used AI tool worldwide.