Sam Altman’s evolving stance on India is a masterclass in corporate opportunism. Once dismissive of India’s ability to develop advanced AI models, he now showers the country with praise, lauding its rapid adoption of artificial intelligence. His recent tweets about India’s growing AI ecosystem conveniently ignore his 2023 remark, in which he called India’s attempts to build something like ChatGPT “totally hopeless.” But this sudden shift in tone is more than just a change of heart—it’s a strategic recalibration aimed at tapping into one of the world’s largest and fastest-growing AI user bases.
Kunal Shah, the founder of CRED, didn’t hesitate to call out the underlying motivation behind Altman’s newfound admiration. His sharp response—“India is the MAU farm of the world”—cut through the corporate PR, highlighting what many in the Indian tech community already suspect. For global tech giants like OpenAI, India is a goldmine of Monthly Active Users (MAUs), a metric that directly translates to engagement, data collection, and ultimately, monetization. India’s billion-plus population, skyrocketing smartphone penetration, and deepening internet connectivity make it a prime target for AI-driven companies. In other words, it’s not just about India’s creativity or innovation—it’s about numbers, and Altman knows that better than anyone.
If there was any doubt that OpenAI’s CEO was playing a calculated game, his recent Twitter activity erased it. In a bid to further endear himself to Indian users, Altman posted an AI-generated anime-style image of himself as a cricket player donning an Indian team jersey—an obvious attempt to tap into the country’s biggest cultural obsession. The response was predictable, with thousands of engagements from Indian users. But the marketing play was too transparent to go unnoticed. Kunal Shah’s cheeky yet telling response—“MAU incoming”—was a clear nod to the fact that Altman’s enthusiasm isn’t purely about AI innovation.
That said, India’s AI revolution is undeniable. With a thriving developer community, a growing number of AI startups, and strong government interest in emerging technologies, the country is making significant strides. The sheer volume of AI research, fintech innovation, and automation happening in India today is enough to make Silicon Valley take notice. But the irony of Altman’s pivot remains hard to ignore. Just two years ago, he scoffed at India’s AI potential. Now, as OpenAI finds itself struggling with growing demand, it is suddenly eager to embrace the country’s role in AI’s future.
His sudden appreciation for India comes at a time when OpenAI is grappling with its own success—and the challenges that come with it. The company recently launched a new AI-powered image-generation feature in GPT-4o, allowing users to create high-quality AI-generated images directly within the chatbot. However, what OpenAI didn’t anticipate was just how wildly popular this feature would become. The ability to generate Studio Ghibli-style art, in particular, took the internet by storm, with users flooding the platform to create AI-generated avatars, artwork, and even wedding photos. The surge in demand was so intense that Altman himself admitted their GPUs were “melting.”
The chaos didn’t end there. Even a week after the feature’s launch, OpenAI’s servers continued to struggle under the weight of unprecedented demand. Altman was forced to issue a public warning, telling users to brace for slow performance, glitches, and delays as the company scrambled to stabilize its infrastructure. The incident underscored OpenAI’s growing pains—while its AI products have captured global attention, the company is now facing the challenge of scaling its technology to meet soaring user demand.
In this context, Altman’s pivot to India makes even more sense. A rapidly expanding user base, a strong appetite for AI-driven applications, and an ever-growing developer ecosystem make India an attractive market. Whether his praise is genuine or simply a calculated move to cement OpenAI’s presence in India remains an open question. But one thing is clear: India’s AI revolution is no longer something Silicon Valley can afford to ignore.
