OpenAI Expands ChatGPT Go Plan to 16 Asian Countries, Deepening AI Access Across Emerging Markets
OpenAI has broadened the reach of its affordable ChatGPT Go plan to 16 additional Asian countries, marking a major step in the company’s mission to democratize access to artificial intelligence. The expansion includes Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, East Timor, and Vietnam, allowing millions of new users to explore advanced AI tools at a low cost.
In select markets such as Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Pakistan, subscribers can now pay in local currencies, while users in other countries will pay around $5 USD per month, depending on local tax laws. The ChatGPT Go plan offers significant upgrades over the free version — including higher daily message limits, enhanced image generation, and expanded file upload capabilities. It also comes with double the memory capacity, enabling more personalized and consistent conversations with ChatGPT.
The rollout follows the successful launches of ChatGPT Go in India and Indonesia, where it quickly gained popularity among students, small businesses, and digital creators. Introduced in August 2025, the plan was priced at ₹399 in India, OpenAI’s most affordable paid tier at the time. Its accessibility and integration with mobile payment systems like UPI helped drive widespread adoption, with OpenAI reporting a sharp rise in paid subscriptions within weeks.
OpenAI said the expansion reflects the surging AI adoption across Southeast Asia, where weekly active users have quadrupled in recent months. The growth has been fueled by increasing digital literacy and the widespread use of smartphones. According to CEO Sam Altman, ChatGPT now boasts over 800 million weekly active users globally and 4 million developers building on its platform — up from 700 million users in August. Despite this success, OpenAI continues to operate at a loss, recording $7.8 billion in operating expenses in the first half of 2025 as it invests heavily in infrastructure and AI development.
The move also intensifies competition with Google, which launched its own AI Plus plan featuring Gemini 2.5 Pro in Indonesia in September. With both tech giants expanding aggressively across Asia, the region is rapidly becoming a battleground for affordable AI tools, giving millions of users unprecedented access to next-generation digital intelligence.
source: Nairametrics