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India Becomes OpenAI’s Second-Largest Market, Altman Reveals

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OpenAI CEO Sam Altman announced on Wednesday that India has become the company’s second-largest market by user base, with the number of users tripling over the past year. Altman met with India’s IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw to discuss India’s efforts to create a low-cost AI ecosystem. Altman praised India’s rapid AI adoption and its growing ambitions, emphasizing that the country should aim to lead the AI revolution.

Vaishnaw shared a post on X about his “super cool discussion” with Altman, focusing on India’s strategy to build a complete AI stack, including GPUs, models, and applications. OpenAI expressed interest in collaborating with India on all aspects of this strategy.

Altman’s comments marked a shift from his stance last year, when he questioned India’s ability to build a substantial AI model with a $10 million budget. He now supports India’s AI ambitions, calling for the country to become a leader in the field.

This visit to India comes as OpenAI faces legal challenges in the country. India’s finance ministry has also warned its employees against using tools like ChatGPT and DeepSeek for official work, citing confidentiality concerns. Despite these challenges, OpenAI continues to expand its global presence, with Altman also securing deals in Japan and South Korea during his recent travels.

 

Spotify Posts First Annual Profit and Projects Strong Quarter Ahead

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Spotify Technology reported its first-ever annual profit on Tuesday, attributing the success to a combination of strong user growth, price hikes, and strategic cost-cutting efforts. The Swedish audio streaming giant also provided a positive quarterly forecast, projecting earnings above Wall Street’s expectations, which drove its shares up nearly 10% in early trading.

The company’s profit marks the successful culmination of months-long efforts to improve profitability through cost reductions, including layoffs, reduced marketing spending, and scaling back investments in podcasting and audio. In the upcoming quarter, Spotify expects operating income of 548 million euros ($566.2 million), surpassing analysts’ forecasts of 450.6 million euros.

Spotify’s projected monthly active users (MAU) of 678 million for the quarter is close to the analysts’ estimate of 679.4 million, while its forecast of adding 2 million new premium subscribers, bringing the total to 265 million, exceeds expectations.

CEO Daniel Ek shared plans to introduce more personalized offerings for subscribers, including a new premium tier targeted at “superfans of music,” which will feature additional benefits to cater to different user preferences. Ek emphasized that Spotify’s future growth would involve creating various products tailored to specific audiences, rather than offering a one-size-fits-all option.

Spotify’s fourth-quarter results were bolstered by record user additions, with 35 million new subscribers, bringing the total to 675 million MAUs, surpassing estimates. Premium subscribers grew by 11% to 263 million, exceeding expectations of 260 million. The company also focused on boosting video and podcast content to increase user engagement, with a successful expansion of its music video feature and enhancements for content creators.

Revenue for the fourth quarter rose 16% to 4.24 billion euros, surpassing analysts’ estimates of 4.19 billion euros, driven by subscriber growth and a 5% increase in average revenue per user. The company’s gross profit soared 40%, thanks to a 16% drop in operating expenses, and its gross profit margin increased to 32.2% from the previous quarter’s 31.1%.