AI & Models
OpenAI partners with six Indian universities to scale AI skills
OpenAI is partnering with six Indian higher-education institutions, aiming to reach more than 100,000 students and faculty over the next year to integrate AI into academic workflows.
On Wednesday, OpenAI announced partnerships with six higher-education institutions in India. The initiative aims to reach more than 100,000 students, faculty, and staff over the next year. The first cohort of partner institutions includes the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences New Delhi, and the Manipal Academy of Higher Education. The partnerships span multiple disciplines, including engineering, management, healthcare, and creative fields, focusing on integrating AI into core academic workflows.
This institutional push follows significant consumer growth for ChatGPT in the South Asian nation. According to Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, ChatGPT has over 100 million monthly active users in India, making the country the company’s second-largest user base after the U.S. The announcement comes as other technology firms expand their local skilling initiatives. Last month, Google reported that India accounts for the highest usage of its Gemini tools for learning. Additionally, Microsoft announced this week that it would expand its Elevate skilling program—a program designed to train teachers across schools, vocational institutes, and higher-education settings—in India.
Under the new agreements, OpenAI plans to deploy ChatGPT Edu—its AI tool for education—alongside faculty training and responsible-use frameworks. The integration will focus on embedding AI directly into core academic workflows such as coding, research, analytics, and case analysis, rather than simply offering standalone access to the tools. Two of the partner institutions, the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad and the Manipal Academy of Higher Education, will also introduce OpenAI-backed certifications. To extend training beyond university campuses, OpenAI is collaborating with local ed-tech partners, including Physics Wallah, upGrad, and HCL GUVI, to launch structured courses on AI fundamentals and ChatGPT use cases aimed at students and early-career professionals. Raghav Gupta, the head of education at OpenAI India, described these academic institutions as a “critical route” to closing the gap between advancing AI tools and how people actually use them. The initiative aligns with OpenAI’s broader educational efforts, which include its Learning Accelerator program in the Asia-Pacific region.
Why it matters
The partnerships signal OpenAI’s interest in influencing how AI is taught, governed, and normalized within one of the world’s largest higher-education systems. By moving beyond consumer tools, the company is targeting institutions that shape professional skills and long-term technology adoption.