ChatGPT developer OpenAI and the IndiaAI Mission signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Thursday to launch OpenAI Academy, the US-based company’s educational platform, in India. This initiative aims to promote artificial intelligence (AI) skills within the country and marks the first international rollout of OpenAI’s online learning platform. India currently holds the distinction of being the second largest user base for ChatGPT.

Union IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, in a virtual message during the launch event in New Delhi, emphasized the importance of making AI tools and development frameworks accessible to all startups and researchers. He stated, \"The (AI) tools and the latest development frameworks should be available to all the startups and researchers so that new apps can be developed, new solutions can be created at population scale.\" He added that this initiative is expected to bolster India’s commitment to democratizing technology and contribute significantly to the IndiaAI Mission.

The IndiaAI Mission is also actively supporting the development of Indian foundational AI models. Officials mentioned that this effort is attracting interest from prominent Indian-origin computer scientists and entrepreneurs in the US, such as Essential AI cofounder Ashish Vaswani and Two AI founder Pranav Mistry. This indicates that the IndiaAI Mission is successfully drawing talent and entrepreneurs back to India.

Jason Kwon, OpenAI's Chief Strategy Officer, remarked that India is on its way to becoming a \"global AI powerhouse.\" He highlighted India's understanding that maximizing AI's benefits requires substantial investments in core infrastructure and the cultivation of AI talent. \"By leading in these areas and empowering people to harness frontier intelligence, India can accelerate that growth and discover scientific breakthroughs and develop solutions to some of society's hardest challenges,\" Kwon said. He further noted that India’s extensive and growing pool of AI talent, vibrant entrepreneurial spirit, and strong government support for critical infrastructure position the country for success across all aspects of the AI stack.

Kwon also pointed out the burgeoning demand for AI professionals in India, projected to reach 1 million by 2026. \"As demand for AI professionals is expected to reach 1 million by 2026, there's a significant opportunity and a need to expand AI skills, development and make sure people from every part of India can participate and benefit,\" he stated.

Through this partnership, OpenAI will contribute educational content and resources to IndiaAI's ‘future skills’ platform and the iGOT Karmayogi civil servant capacity building platform. Additionally, OpenAI will provide up to $100,000 worth of API credits to 50 IndiaAI Mission-approved fellows and startups. OpenAI also plans to train one million teachers in the use of generative AI, conduct hackathons in seven states targeting 25,000 students, and deliver webinars and workshops through its domain experts and partners in six cities.

Abhishek Singh, Chief Executive of the IndiaAI Mission, expressed confidence in the partnership, stating, “I am sure with this partnership, we will be able to strengthen our educational ecosystem, we will be able to empower all our students, we will be able to support our entrepreneurs and our engineers in building state-of-the-art AI applications and models.”