India's AI boom pushes firms to trade near-term revenue for users | TechCrunch

TechCrunch

by Jagmeet Singh

February 25, 2026

AI-Generated Deep Dive Summary

India’s AI boom has reached new heights, with the country emerging as a global hub for generative AI adoption. In 2025, India became the world’s largest market for generative AI app downloads, surpassing even the U.S., according to Sensor Tower. This growth was fueled by aggressive promotional strategies from major tech companies like OpenAI, Google, and Perplexity, which offered extended free premium trials to attract users in a price-sensitive market. However, as these promotions wind down, the focus is now on converting those massive user numbers into paying subscribers—a critical challenge for AI firms looking to monetize India’s booming AI adoption. The rapid rise of AI app downloads in India has not translated into significant revenue growth. Despite leading global download figures, India accounts for just 1% of AI app in-app purchases, even as it drives nearly 20% of global GenAI app downloads. This discrepancy highlights a major monetization hurdle. For instance, ChatGPT saw its revenue drop sharply after ending free access in November 2025—down 33% and 32% month-over-month in November and December respectively. While ChatGPT still dominates the Indian market with over 60% of GenAI in-app revenue, its pricing strategy will remain a key factor in determining overall market performance. India’s appeal lies in its vast digital ecosystem—home to over a billion internet users and nearly 700 million smartphone owners. This massive base has driven exponential growth for AI platforms like DeepSeek, Grok, and Meta AI, as well as rapid scaling of major chatbots like Gemini, Claude, and Perplexity. The country’s government support for AI initiatives, including the recent New Delhi AI

Verticals

techstartups

Originally published on TechCrunch on 2/25/2026