According to reports, OpenAI is planning to construct a major data center in India. The facility is expected to have a capacity of at least one gigawatt, making it one of the largest in the country. This initiative ties into the Stargate project, a USD 500 billion global effort backed by SoftBank, Microsoft, and Oracle, aimed at building large-scale AI infrastructure to meet the growing computational demands of artificial intelligence. This move also aligns with OpenAI's "OpenAI for Countries" initiative, which is designed to assist nations in developing sovereign AI infrastructure that meets their regulatory, ethical, and economic standards. Notably, India is already the second-largest market for OpenAI by user count, and the company has been actively preparing to expand its presence in the region. While the general plans for OpenAI's Indian project have been outlined, several key details remain unresolved. The exact location has not yet been disclosed, and there is no confirmed timeline regarding when construction or operations might begin. It is reported that the Microsoft-backed company is currently in discussions with potential local partners who could assist in building and managing the facility. Further updates may be revealed during CEO Sam Altman’s planned visit to India in September 2025. Typically, such large data centers are either built by major tech firms or as part of national infrastructure projects. AI demands more resources, as training powerful models requires significant computing power and substantial energy. Additionally, the presence of such a large facility could help OpenAI meet regulatory and business requirements. Hosting servers locally would make it easier to comply with data residency laws, which mandate that certain types of data remain within national borders. This would also enhance performance for enterprise users in the region, reducing latency and ensuring faster access to AI tools. The timing of this development is notable, as the AI trendsetter recently registered as a legal entity in India, begun local hiring, and announced plans to open its first office in New Delhi before the end of the year. The company also launched a low-cost plan tailored for India, called ChatGPT Go, priced at 399 rupees per month. Despite these efforts, OpenAI still faces significant challenges in the Indian market. It is competing against rivals such as Google's Gemini and Perplexity, which are attracting users with aggressive discounts and free plans. For example, Perplexity recently partnered with Airtel to offer its premium service for free to over 300 million customers, while Google provides a year of free AI Pro access to students. Moreover, OpenAI is facing legal challenges from publishers including Penguin Random House, Cambridge University Press, and S. Chand & Co., who allege that their content has been used without permission to train OpenAI's models.