'India will be one of the biggest markets for AI': OpenAI CEO Sam Altman on jobs and growth

At the India AI Impact Summit 2026, Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, expressed his enthusiasm about India's potential to become one of the largest markets for artificial intelligence globally. He commended the country's advancements in AI, stating that India is 'leading the world' in its adoption of this transformative technology. While highlighting the immense opportunities within the Indian AI landscape, Altman acknowledged the inevitable impact of AI on employment. He noted, 'AI will definitely influence the job market, but history shows we always adapt and discover new avenues for work.' His confidence in finding new job opportunities remained steadfast. Altman also emphasized that India is one of the fastest-growing markets for OpenAI, with a remarkable engagement from users. He revealed that over 100 million individuals utilize ChatGPT on a weekly basis, underscoring the platform's popularity in the region. In a significant development, OpenAI announced a partnership with the Tata Group, aimed at bolstering AI infrastructure in India as part of its global Stargate initiative. This collaboration will focus on creating AI-ready data center capabilities that prioritize data security and residency. As the inaugural customer of Tata Consultancy Services' HyperVault data center, OpenAI plans to start with 100 megawatts of capacity, with aspirations to expand to 1 gigawatt. This infrastructure aims to facilitate the operation of OpenAI's advanced models within India, ensuring low latency while adhering to compliance and security standards for crucial government and enterprise applications. Additionally, the partnership includes deploying ChatGPT Enterprise across Tata Group's workforce, which could become one of the largest enterprise AI rollouts worldwide, starting with hundreds of thousands of TCS employees. TCS also aims to leverage OpenAI's Codex to streamline AI-native software development across its teams. This initiative adds to OpenAI's growing collaborations with prominent Indian companies such as Jio, HCLTech, and PhonePe.