New Delhi witnessed a landmark moment in artificial intelligence on Thursday as OpenAI CEO Sam Altman spotlighted India’s explosive growth in AI adoption. Speaking at the India AI Impact Summit 2026, Altman described India as one of the world’s fastest-growing markets for his company, potentially the quickest overall.
In a candid media interaction, Altman expressed delight at being in India, emphasizing the ‘incredible opportunities’ AI presents here. ‘This is one of our fastest-growing markets globally,’ he said. ‘For Codex specifically, it’s undoubtedly the fastest.’
He revealed a staggering statistic: over 100 million weekly active users of ChatGPT in India, spanning students, teachers, developers, and entrepreneurs. This scale underscores India’s pivotal role in the global AI ecosystem.
Earlier in the summit, Altman unveiled the ‘OpenAI for India’ initiative, aimed at building AI infrastructure, bolstering skills development, and fostering local partnerships. The goal is clear: ‘Build AI with India, for India, and in India.’
Kicking off with the Tata Group, this collaboration will focus on sovereign AI capabilities, accelerating industry adoption, workforce training, and ecosystem support. Under OpenAI’s global Stargate initiative, they plan to develop AI-ready data center capacity in India, starting at 100 megawatts and scaling to 1 gigawatt.
OpenAI will be the first customer of Tata Consultancy Services’ (TCS) Hyperscale Data Centre business. Altman praised India’s tech talent, positive AI outlook, and government support as key enablers for mass democratic AI adoption.
The proposed infrastructure will enable secure operation of OpenAI’s advanced models within India, ensuring low latency, data security, and compliance with local regulations. As India charges ahead, Altman’s vision positions the nation as a global AI powerhouse, unlocking economic and social benefits for millions.