Open AI Begins Storing Chat GPT Enterprise & API User Data Locally in India

In a major move to align with India’s data sovereignty regulations, Open AI has announced that data from Indian users of Chat GPT Enterprise, Chat GPT Edu, and its API Platform will now be stored within the country.

This update means Indian enterprises, educational institutions, and developers can now ensure their Chat GPT conversations, custom GPT interactions, uploaded files, and multimodal content—across text, vision, and images—are retained locally when using these platforms within their respective workspaces.

For API users, data residency can be activated by selecting India as the region while creating a new project in the Open AI API dashboard. Open AI confirmed that data related to such projects will remain stored in the chosen country.

This development follows Open AI’s broader strategy to strengthen its infrastructure in high-growth regions. Earlier this year, Business Standard reported Open AI’s plans to initiate local data center operations in India to accommodate the rising demand and usage of AI tools in the country.

India now ranks as Open AI’s second-largest market, with user numbers having tripled in 2024, according to CEO Sam Altman during his visit to India in February. “From chips to AI models to applications, the innovation happening in India is truly remarkable,” Altman said.

During his trip, Open AI’s leadership held key meetings with Indian government officials, the US Embassy, and policy think tanks like The Quantum Hub, underlining India’s strategic importance in Open AI’s global roadmap.

In addition to India, Open AI has also rolled out similar data residency support for Japan, Singapore, and South Korea, following its earlier deployments in Europe. The initiative strengthens the company’s commitment to privacy and compliance, which already supports a diverse user base across Asia—including leading names like Kakao, SoftBank, Grab, and Singapore Airlines.