OpenAI launches India-first Learning Accelerator; partners with IIT Madras and others

OpenAI on Monday launched an India-first initiative to support educators with AI tools and training, alongside a $500,000 research partnership with IIT Madras.

The move comes as OpenAI prepares to open its first India office in New Delhi later this year, with founder Sam Altman visiting next month.

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Under the collaboration, IIT Madras will study how AI can improve learning and teaching, sharing results to guide future products. Notably, India has the largest ChatGPT student user base globally.

Raghav Gupta has been appointed Head of Education for India and Asia Pacific. With 20+ years in education and edtech, he will help make OpenAI’s tools accessible to teachers, students, and researchers.

In the next six months, OpenAI plans to distribute around 500,000 ChatGPT licenses and training to educators and students through partnerships with the Ministry of Education (MoE), AICTE, and ARISE member schools.

The initiative, part of the OpenAI Learning Accelerator, aims to bring AI research, training, and tools to educators and millions of learners nationwide. Collaborations with MoE, AICTE, and ARISE schools will provide ChatGPT access for lesson planning, skill-building, and personalised teaching, with training to ensure responsible and effective use of AI.

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“We believe AI has incredible potential to empower educators and learners. To realize that potential, we must work side by side with educators and institutions. This effort is critical to OpenAI’s mission of ensuring AGI benefits humanity—and as such, the launch of OpenAI Learning Accelerator alongside our partners, represents one of OpenAI’s most significant investments in India’s education ecosystem to date.” —Leah Belsky, VP of Education, OpenAI

In recent weeks, OpenAI has launched several India-focused initiatives, including ChatGPT Go, OpenAI Academy, and improved support for Indic languages.

Just days ago, it introduced ChatGPT Go, a new subscription plan for Rs 399 per month in India, offering higher message limits, image generation, and file uploads. The company also enabled UPI payments for all ChatGPT subscriptions, making its AI tools more accessible to users across the country.