OpenAI just dropped a bombshell for its second-largest market. The company's offering ChatGPT Go completely free for an entire year to users in India, starting November 4th. This isn't just about generosity - it's a strategic play to crack the code on monetizing India's massive but price-sensitive user base of over 700 million smartphone users.
OpenAI is making its biggest bet yet on India's potential. The company announced Tuesday it's giving away ChatGPT Go subscriptions - normally priced under $5 monthly - for free to Indian users who sign up during a promotional window starting November 4th. Even existing subscribers get the deal.
The timing isn't coincidental. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has called India the company's second-largest market after the US, but the revenue numbers tell a different story. According to Appfigures data reviewed by TechCrunch, ChatGPT racked up over 29 million downloads in India during the 90 days leading to August, yet generated just $3.6 million in in-app purchases. That's roughly 12 cents per download.
"Since initially launching ChatGPT Go in India a few months ago, the adoption and creativity we've seen from our users has been inspiring," Nick Turley, OpenAI's VP and head of ChatGPT, said in a statement. The enthusiasm is there - the willingness to pay isn't.
ChatGPT Go launched in India this August as OpenAI's most affordable paid tier, offering 10 times more usage than the free version for generating responses, creating images, and uploading files. It also features improved memory for personalized interactions. But even at under $5 monthly, it struggled to convert India's massive user base into paying customers.
The company's doubling down on India in other ways too. OpenAI opened its New Delhi office in August and is building a local team. The service has expanded beyond India to Indonesia and 16 other Asian countries, suggesting the pricing strategy is working elsewhere.
But OpenAI isn't alone in courting India's billion-plus internet users. The competition's heating up fast. Perplexity recently partnered with telecom giant Airtel to offer free Perplexity Pro subscriptions to the operator's 360 million subscribers. launched a across the country.
