Prime Highlights
- OpenAI has launched its affordable ChatGPT Go subscriptionacross 16 countries in Asia, aiming to broaden access to advanced AI tools and drive user growth in emerging markets.
- The expansion is part of OpenAI’s strategy to boost global adoptionand steer the company toward profitability, especially after reporting a $7.8 billion operating loss in H1 2025.
Key Facts
- ChatGPT Go offers enhanced features like higher daily usage limits, image generation, and twice the memoryof the free plan, all for under $5 USD or equivalent in local currencies.
- OpenAI now has 800 million weekly active users globally, with Southeast Asia usage quadrupling, and paid users in India doublingsince the plan’s initial launch.
Background
OpenAI has extended its affordable ChatGPT Go subscription model to 16 countries in Asia, where users can get state-of-the-art features all under $5. The plan is now available in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, East Timor, and Vietnam.
In select countries, including Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Pakistan, users can pay in local currencies. In other regions, the plan costs around $5 in USD, with variations based on local taxes. ChatGPT Go provides higher daily limits for messages, image generation, and file or image uploads. It also provides twice the memory of the free plan, enabling more personalized interactions.
This growth follows as OpenAI experiences an accelerated growth in Southeast Asia, where weekly active users have increased by up to four times. ChatGPT Go was first launched in India in August, followed by Indonesia in September. OpenAI reports that paid subscribers in India have doubled since launch.
The move positions OpenAI against Google, which recently expanded its similarly priced Google AI Plus plan in over 40 countries. Google’s plan offers access to Gemini 2.5 Pro, creative tools for image and video creation, and 200GB of cloud storage.
OpenAI also recently announced that ChatGPT now has 800 million weekly active users globally, up from 700 million in August. At its DevDay 2025 conference, CEO Sam Altman introduced apps that work inside ChatGPT, transforming it into an ecosystem similar to an app store, with partners such as Spotify, Zillow, and Coursera.
Despite its $500 billion valuation, OpenAI reported a $7.8 billion operating loss in the first half of 2025. ChatGPT Go subscription plans are considered to be the way to grow the global user base and the transition to profitability, especially in Asian markets that are actively developing.
