In advance of legal and regulatory requirements pertaining to data localization, OpenAI has stated that it will allow Indian businesses and organizations utilizing its AI solutions to store data locally.
For ChatGPT Enterprise, ChatGPT Edu, and API clients in India as well as in nations like Japan, Singapore, and South Korea, the Microsoft-backed AI business is introducing data residency alternatives. The phrase “data residency” describes the actual location of an organization’s data.
“With data residency, eligible API customers and new ChatGPT Enterprise and Edu customers can choose to have customer content stored at rest in supported countries,” OpenAI said in a blog post published on Wednesday, May 7.
According to the firm, its data residency service is based on enterprise-grade data privacy, security, and compliance capabilities that are already in place. According to the firm, a number of Asian companies have chosen to use OpenAI’s data residency, including Kakao, SoftBank, Grab, and Singapore Airlines.
Media revealed earlier this year that the draft regulations put up by the IT Ministry to operationalize the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, included a return to data localization standards. The term “data localization” describes legislative measures that limit the movement of data inside a jurisdiction’s borders.
According to the draft DPDP Rules, 2025, a central government-formed committee will decide what types of personal data major data fiduciaries (such as Meta, Google, Apple, and other major tech companies) are permitted to process, with the caveat that such personal data cannot be transferred outside of Indian territory.
The news agency ANI’s copyright infringement case against OpenAI may also be impacted by the company’s storing of user data on its servers in India. According to court documents, OpenAI had maintained that because its servers are located outside, Indian courts lacked jurisdiction over this issue.
Even if training data won’t be stored on these servers, it’s unclear how Wednesday’s revelation would affect the case.
What data will be stored by OpenAI in India?
Customers may build new ChatGPT workspaces under OpenAI’s data residency option, which allows client data to be locally kept in that area, according to the company.“This includes users’ conversations with ChatGPT and custom GPTs in your Enterprise or Edu workspace, including user prompts, uploaded files, and content across text, vision, and image modalities,” the company said.
The locally stored data will be encrypted when it is being sent between OpenAI and its service providers and between OpenAI and its clients, according to OpenAI.
The business declared that it will not train its AI models using the saved consumer data. “By default, OpenAI’s models are not trained using data from ChatGPT business plans or the API unless a customer explicitly opts in to share data with us,” OpenAI said.
“For the API Platform and ChatGPT business products, data remains confidential, secure, and entirely owned by you,” it added.
By establishing a new Project on the API Platform dashboard and choosing the appropriate country, ChatGPT Enterprise, ChatGPT Edu, and its API clients may allow data residency.
According to the statement, the data gathered via the API platform would be kept in the selected nation.
Building AI infrastructure for other countries
By recruiting the AI firm and the US government as partners, OpenAI has started a program to assist other nations in expanding their AI infrastructure. The $500 billion Stargate project, which US President Donald Trump unveiled earlier this year, includes the OpenAI for Countries effort.
“It’s clear to everyone now that this kind of infrastructure is going to be the backbone of future economic growth and national development,” OpenAI said in a blog post.
“This is a moment when we need to act to support countries around the world that would prefer to build on democratic AI rails, and provide a clear alternative to authoritarian versions of AI that would deploy it to consolidate power,” it added.
“We’ve heard from many countries asking for help in building out similar AI infrastructure.In response to these interested governments, OpenAI is offering a new kind of partnership for the Intelligence Age,” it further said.
In order to enhance healthcare, education, and public services, OpenAI and the US government will collaborate to construct data centers abroad that will offer locally-specific ChatGPT versions that are adapted to local languages and cultures.
The projects under this initiative will involve “local as well as OpenAI capital.” “Partner countries also would invest in expanding the global Stargate Project,” it added.
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