ChatGPT Go Plan Expands to 16 New Asian Countries | OpenAI

OpenAI Extends Affordable ChatGPT Go to Additional Asian Markets

OpenAI is significantly broadening the availability of its cost-effective ChatGPT Go subscription plan, priced under $5, to encompass 16 new nations throughout Asia.

New Countries Included

The subscription service is now accessible in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, East Timor, and Vietnam.

Payment Options

Users in countries like Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Pakistan are now able to make payments utilizing their local currencies. For all other included nations, the cost is set at approximately $5 USD, though the final amount may fluctuate due to regional tax regulations.

ChatGPT Go provides subscribers with increased daily allowances for message volume, image creation, and file or image uploads. Furthermore, the plan features double the memory capacity of the free version, facilitating more tailored and relevant responses.

Growth in Southeast Asia

According to OpenAI, this expansion is a direct response to a substantial increase in weekly active users within Southeast Asia, experiencing growth rates of up to 4x. The initial rollout of the plan began in India during August, followed by Indonesia in September. The number of paid subscribers in India has reportedly doubled since its launch.

Competition with Google

OpenAI is actively competing with Google to offer accessible AI chatbot subscription options across a wider range of regions. Google launched its Google AI Plus plan, similarly priced, in Indonesia in September, subsequently expanding its reach to over 40 countries.

The Plus tier grants access to Gemini 2.5 Pro, Google’s most sophisticated AI model, alongside creative tools for image and video production – including Flow, Whisk, and Veo 3 Fast – and 200GB of cloud storage.

Recent Developments and User Growth

This expansion occurs at a crucial juncture for OpenAI. During its DevDay 2025 conference in San Francisco, CEO Sam Altman revealed that ChatGPT has now reached 800 million weekly active users globally, an increase from 700 million in August.

The company also announced a significant platform evolution, introducing applications that function directly within ChatGPT, transforming the chatbot into an ecosystem resembling an app store. Partners include Spotify, Zillow, and Coursera.

ChatGPT as an Operating System

“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,” explained Nick Turley, head of ChatGPT, to TechCrunch. “If you want to write, there’s an app for that. If you want to code, there’s an app for that. If you want to interact with goods and services, there are applications for you.”

Financial Performance and Future Outlook

Despite its rapid expansion and a recent valuation of $500 billion, OpenAI reported a $7.8 billion operating loss in the first half of 2025, largely due to substantial investments in AI infrastructure.

Affordable subscription tiers, such as ChatGPT Go, are considered vital for achieving profitability while simultaneously growing its global user base, particularly within the rapidly expanding markets of Asia, where both OpenAI and Google are vying for market dominance.