OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman proposed a multibillion-pound deal to the UK’s technology secretary, offering premium access to ChatGPT Plus for the entire country, according to a report by The Guardian.
Altman met UK technology secretary Peter Kyle — a vocal supporter of artificial intelligence (AI) — in San Francisco between March and April, discussing opportunities for collaboration between the UK and OpenAI. The idea to offer ChatGPT Plus to all UK citizens was floated in this meeting. However, Kyle didn’t consider the deal seriously, which would have cost as much as £2 billion (around $2.6 billion).
The UK is already one of OpenAI’s top 5 markets for ChatGPT Plus subscriptions.
But, in July, the UK secretary signed an agreement with OpenAI to use its products in the UK’s public services, the Guardian reported. The non-binding agreement could grant OpenAI access to the UK’s government data that is being used in education, defence, security and the justice system.
The partnership extends beyond the usage of OpenAI tools. The UK and ChatGPT maker have also deepened collaboration on AI security research, and the company aims to explore investing in British AI infrastructure, such as data centres.
OpenAI’s expansion
Earlier this month, OpenAI said it will offer its products and services to US government agencies “at essentially no cost”, days after the Trump administration announced its AI Action Plan.
The collaboration, sealed for a year, allows participating US federal agencies to utilise OpenAI frontier models through ChatGPT Enterprise, at the cost of $1 per agency.
ChatGPT owner OpenAI will open its first office in India later this year, as it looks to introduce more offerings into its second-largest market at affordable prices.
Altman had earlier announced that he will be visiting India next month, highlighting that “AI adoption in India has been amazing to watch—ChatGPT users grew 4x in the past year.”
The company recently introduced ChatGPT Go in India, an affordable subscription tier priced at Rs 399 per month (around $4.60). The plan offers a significant upgrade over the free version and is designed to give Indian users wider access to some of ChatGPT’s most popular features.
Altman met UK technology secretary Peter Kyle — a vocal supporter of artificial intelligence (AI) — in San Francisco between March and April, discussing opportunities for collaboration between the UK and OpenAI. The idea to offer ChatGPT Plus to all UK citizens was floated in this meeting. However, Kyle didn’t consider the deal seriously, which would have cost as much as £2 billion (around $2.6 billion).
The UK is already one of OpenAI’s top 5 markets for ChatGPT Plus subscriptions.
But, in July, the UK secretary signed an agreement with OpenAI to use its products in the UK’s public services, the Guardian reported. The non-binding agreement could grant OpenAI access to the UK’s government data that is being used in education, defence, security and the justice system.
The partnership extends beyond the usage of OpenAI tools. The UK and ChatGPT maker have also deepened collaboration on AI security research, and the company aims to explore investing in British AI infrastructure, such as data centres.
OpenAI’s expansion
Earlier this month, OpenAI said it will offer its products and services to US government agencies “at essentially no cost”, days after the Trump administration announced its AI Action Plan.
The collaboration, sealed for a year, allows participating US federal agencies to utilise OpenAI frontier models through ChatGPT Enterprise, at the cost of $1 per agency.
ChatGPT owner OpenAI will open its first office in India later this year, as it looks to introduce more offerings into its second-largest market at affordable prices.
Altman had earlier announced that he will be visiting India next month, highlighting that “AI adoption in India has been amazing to watch—ChatGPT users grew 4x in the past year.”
The company recently introduced ChatGPT Go in India, an affordable subscription tier priced at Rs 399 per month (around $4.60). The plan offers a significant upgrade over the free version and is designed to give Indian users wider access to some of ChatGPT’s most popular features.
