OpenAI has announced that it will now process artificial intelligence (AI) data locally in India.
This means Indian companies can use its tools without their sensitive data leaving the country.
Until now, many Indian companies were slow to fully adopt AI. This was especially true in financial services and banking.
Strict rules require customer information to be stored and processed locally.
So companies were worried about sending data across borders.
Key points
- Local processing is available for the GPT-6 Luna model at launch.
- It works for text tasks, such as summarising long documents and drafting responses.
- Companies must choose India for data storage and processing.
- It is part of the "OpenAI for India" programme started earlier this year.
So why does this matter for businesses?
The new service is called API inference residency. Inference is the computing work an AI model does when it gives an answer.
With this service, both the request and the model's computing will happen inside India.
Businesses can use AI for everyday work without worrying about data crossing Indian borders.
Nitin Bawankule, Head of Enterprise, India at OpenAI, said some Indian businesses have not fully used AI for important work.
They need the information to be processed within the country.
He said local processing gives companies more control over where supported work runs.
It also gives Indian developers and startups more scope to build tools.
How can a company start using it?
The steps are simple. A company creates a new API project on the OpenAI platform.
Next, it chooses India as the region for both data storage and processing. It then uses the India regional endpoint.
For now, the service supports input and output through the Responses and Chat Completions APIs.
- 1Create a new API projectSet up a new project on the OpenAI platform.
- 2Choose India as the regionSelect India for both data storage and processing.
- 3Use the India regional endpointFor now, input and output work through the Responses and Chat Completions APIs.
Graphic: News Anek, from the facts in this report
What is the bigger plan behind this?
This step is a major part of the "OpenAI for India" programme.
The programme aims to boost AI infrastructure and enterprise adoption in the country.
Earlier, OpenAI partnered with the Tata Group to build domestic AI data centres.
Recently, a similar local residency option also became available on AWS Bedrock.
India is a key market for the company.
It joins Australia and Japan in OpenAI's recent global expansion of local processing tools.
