ChatGPT parent OpenAI will open its first India office in New Delhi later this year, deepening its push in its second-largest market by user numbers, Reuters reported.

OpenAI, which is backed by Microsoft, has been established as a legal entity in India and has begun hiring a local team, the company said in a statement shared with Reuters on Friday.

India is a critical market for ChatGPT, where it launched its cheapest yet monthly plan at $4.60 just this week, targeting the nearly one billion internet users in the world's most populous nation, according to Reuters.