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OpenAI and Meta Platforms have separately engaged in discussions with India’s Reliance Industries regarding potential collaborations to enhance their artificial intelligence (AI) offerings in the country, according to a report by technology news website The Information on Saturday.
Distribution of ChatGPT in India
A key possibility being explored is a partnership between Reliance Jio and OpenAI to distribute ChatGPT in India. The report, citing two sources familiar with the matter, also indicated that OpenAI has internally considered reducing the ChatGPT subscription fee from $20 per month to a significantly lower amount—potentially just a few dollars. However, it remains unclear whether OpenAI has discussed this pricing strategy with Reliance.
Reliance has reportedly proposed selling OpenAI’s models to enterprise customers through an application programming interface (API). Additionally, discussions have been held about the conglomerate hosting and running OpenAI models locally to ensure that Indian customer data remains within the country’s borders.
Reliance is also considering running OpenAI and Meta’s AI models in a three-gigawatt data center it is planning to construct in Jamnagar, Gujarat. If completed, the facility would be the largest data center in the world, further strengthening India’s AI infrastructure.
Regulatory and Data Localisation Discussed Between OpenAI, Meta And Reliance
Beyond AI expansion, Reliance executives have reportedly engaged with government officials on data localisation mandates. These regulations would require foreign AI firms to store Indian user data within the country, citing concerns over security and privacy.
A partnership with Reliance Industries could significantly benefit both OpenAI and Meta by leveraging Reliance’s extensive distribution ecosystem. This would enable them to reach a larger segment of Indian users, a crucial step in OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s ambition to achieve one billion daily active users by the end of this year.
Despite India being a major market for OpenAI, the country’s price-sensitive consumer base has contributed only a marginal share to the company’s revenue. A potential collaboration with Reliance could help bridge this gap by making AI services more accessible and affordable.
No Official Comments from OpenAI, Meta and Reliance
While global AI giants explore expansion in India, homegrown startups continue to make strides with affordable, India-centric AI solutions. Companies like SarvamAI and Krutrim have secured substantial investments to develop Indic large language models (LLMs) and other AI-based offerings tailored to local needs.
The Indian government is also playing a pivotal role in fostering a thriving AI startup ecosystem. Through initiatives like the INR 10,300 crore IndiaAI Mission and other incentives, the government aims to accelerate domestic AI development and innovation.
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