ChatGPT creator OpenAI recently announced that it is expanding its presence in India. The company is expected to open its first office in New Delhi later this year. Now a new online report has revealed that the company is planning to establish a major datacenter in India. According to a report by Bloomberg, India is part of OpenAI’s ambitious $500 billion Stargate project. For those unaware, Stargate project is part of a global infrastructure initiative which is designed to power next-generation of artificial intelligence. The move signals India’s growing strategic importance in the AI race and marks a significant milestone in OpenAI’s global expansion.
What is the Stargate project
Announced earlier this year, the Stargate project includes building massive supercomputing facilities across multiple continents to support advanced AI models. US President Donald Trump recently called it “the largest AI infrastructure project in history,” underscoring its geopolitical and technological significance.
India’s role in the AI megaproject
The proposed datacenter in India is said to be part of the second phase of the Stargate project. The second phase of the project includes facilities in Middle East, Southeast Asia and Latin America. As per the report OpenAI is in early talks with Indian officials and private partners in order to secure land, regulatory approvals and energy resources. India has become the choice for the Stargate project because of its solid tech ecosystem, renewable energy capacity and skilled workforce. Along with this, India also has many hyper scale data centres which are operated by tech giants such as Amazon, Microsoft and Google.The Stargate facilities are said to house tens of thousands of GPUs and custom chips. These facilities will allow OpenAI to train and deploy powerful models. These supercomputers are expected to support applications ranging from autonomous systems and scientific research to national security and enterprise automation.OpenAI’s CEO Sam Altman has previously emphasized the need for “planet-scale compute” to keep pace with AI’s exponential growth. The Stargate initiative is designed to meet that demand while diversifying infrastructure beyond the U.S.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman on first India office
The PTI report also quotes OpenAI CEO Sam Altman who said “The level of excitement and opportunity for AI in India is incredible. India has all ingredients to become a global AI leader, amazing tech talent, a world-class developer ecosystem, and strong government support through the IndiaAI Mission”.He added, “Opening our first office and building a local team is an important first step in our commitment to make advanced AI more accessible across the country and to build AI for India, and with India.” The report further quotes Ashwini Vaishnaw, Minister for Electronics and Information Technology, who said in a statement “OpenAI’s decision to establish a presence in India reflects the country’s growing leadership in digital innovation and AI adoption. With strong investments in digital public infrastructure, AI talent, and enterprise-scale solutions, India is uniquely positioned to drive the next wave of AI-led transformation”.As part of the IndiaAI Mission, the country is building an ecosystem for trusted and inclusive AI, the minister said, adding, “We welcome OpenAI’s partnership in advancing this vision to ensure the benefits of AI reach every citizen.”