OpenAI’s India user base doubles; Rapido GOV quadruples

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Happy Tuesday! India has become ChatGPT’s largest market globally, with its user base doubling. This and more in today’s ETtech Morning Dispatch. Deep use cases vault India to ChatGPT’s top global market: OpenAI's India MD User growth: “In less than a year, it’s doubling.

It just gives you a sense of (how) people are beginning to find relevance and deep use cases,” Singh told ET in his first media interview since joining OpenAI in August. Payments push: OpenAI is expected to make announcements concerning UPI and payments over the coming weeks.

Enterprise adoption: Singh said the company was “seeing a real shift from early days of pilots and demos — common early this year and late last year — to now scaled adoption and production-scale deployment”. AI regulation: As concerns mount over the potential misuse of increasingly autonomous AI agents, Singh said the company was actively engaging with government agencies and enterprises to protect critical infrastructure.

Outlook: “I also anticipate much more deeper, from our vantage point, deeper localisation and investments in the ecosystem, whether it be product experience, partnerships, working with the government, or working with the community.” From bikes to billions: Rapido’s gross order value quadruples in two years to $4 billion Ride-hailing startup Rapido has crossed $4 billion in annualised gross order value (GOV), quadrupling its scale in two years, as it steps up expansion across mobility and food delivery following a $240 million fundraise in May this year, according to people in the know.

Daily orders: Around 8.3 million across its services, with ride-hailing accounting for more than 95%.Monthly active users: Grew 27% between January and October this year.Market presence: Expanded to nearly 500 cities from around 100 a few years ago.Market share: Estimated 60% across bikes, auto rickshaws and four-wheeler cabs, according to industry executives.Valuation: Raised $240 million in May at a $3 billion valuation.

Food delivery push: Rapido has modelled its food delivery platform Ownly on the zero-commission approach it follows in ride-hailing. Launched in Bengaluru earlier this year, Ownly has since expanded to Hyderabad, Kolkata and New Delhi.

Fireside Ventures cofounder and partner Vinay Singh to exit firm From L to R: V S Kannan Sitaram (Partner), Vinay Singh (Partner), Kanwaljit Singh (Managing Partner) and Dipanjan Basu (Partner) at Fireside Ventures Fireside Ventures cofounder and partner Vinay Singh is exiting the Bengaluru-based venture capital firm after nearly a decade, the company announced on Monday.

Why he’s leaving: “As AI reshapes commerce faster than most of us expected, I want to spend more time exploring the frontiers of agentic commerce and its implications for the future of consumption,” Singh said.