(Reuters) -OpenAI CEO Sam Altman on Wednesday said India is now OpenAI’s second-largest market by number of users, which have tripled in the past year. Altman met with India's IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and discussed India's plan of creating a low-cost AI ecosystem.

Sam Altman, the CEO of ChatGPT maker OpenAI, on his second visit to India in two years, urged the nation to become a leader in artificial intelligence (AI). This is in sharp contrast to his earlier stance where he had called competing with OpenAI on AI models a totally “hopeless” endeavour, particularly for young Indian startups.

Sam Altman’s current endorsement of India’s AI capabilities marks a notable shift from his previous stance. In a 2023 interview, he had expressed doubts about India being able to develop AI models com