OpenAI Expands Affordable ChatGPT Go Plan to 16 Asian Countries, Intensifying AI Market Competition

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OpenAI has extended its budget-friendly ChatGPT Go subscription to 16 new Asian countries, responding to a surge in user growth. This move puts OpenAI in direct competition with Google's AI Plus plan in the rapidly expanding Asian AI market.

OpenAI's Strategic Expansion in Asia

OpenAI has significantly expanded its affordable ChatGPT Go subscription plan to 16 new countries across Asia, marking a major push into the region's rapidly growing AI market

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. The expansion includes Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, East Timor, and Vietnam

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Priced at under $5, the ChatGPT Go plan offers users higher daily limits for messages, image generation, and file uploads compared to the free version. It also provides twice the memory capacity, enabling more personalized responses

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. In select countries such as Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Pakistan, OpenAI is facilitating payments in local currencies, while in the remaining countries, users can pay in USD

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Source: TechCrunch

Source: TechCrunch

Market Growth and Competition

The expansion comes in response to significant user engagement in Southeast Asia, where OpenAI has seen its weekly active user base grow by up to four times

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. This move puts OpenAI in direct competition with Google, which recently launched its similarly priced Google AI Plus plan in over 40 countries

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Google's AI Plus offers access to the Gemini 2.5 Pro model, creative tools for image and video creation, and 200GB of cloud storage

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. The competition between OpenAI and Google signals a growing interest in affordable AI services outside the US, with both companies aggressively vying for market share in high-growth Asian markets

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OpenAI's Growth and Platform Evolution

At its DevDay 2025 conference in San Francisco, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman announced that ChatGPT has reached 800 million weekly active users globally, up from 700 million in August

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. The company also unveiled a major platform shift, introducing apps that work directly inside ChatGPT, transforming it into an ecosystem similar to an app store

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Source: ZDNet

Source: ZDNet

Nick Turley, head of ChatGPT, explained the company's vision: "The evolution we're trying to make over the next few years is one where ChatGPT itself is more like an operating system where you can come and use applications"

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Financial Challenges and Market Strategies

Despite OpenAI's rapid growth and recent $500 billion valuation, the company reported a $7.8 billion operating loss in the first half of 2025 due to heavy investments in AI infrastructure

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. The affordable subscription tiers, like ChatGPT Go, are seen as a crucial step towards achieving profitability while expanding the global user base, particularly in high-growth Asian markets

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Local Competition and Market Dynamics

In Vietnam, one of the new markets for ChatGPT Go, the AI landscape is becoming increasingly competitive. Google's AI Plus plan is available at VND122,000 (US$4.6) per month, offering access to various AI tools

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. Additionally, local tech company Misa provides AI services starting at VND500,000 ($19) per month, allowing access to multiple AI models and sharing among five users

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. This diversity in offerings highlights the growing importance of the Asian market in the global AI industry's competitive landscape.

Source: VnExpress International

Source: VnExpress International

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