OpenAI launches commercial operations in Brazil

OpenAI has launched commercial operations in Brazil, with a local team based in São Paulo working with Brazilian businesses, developers, researchers and public institutions to help translate the country's rapid AI adoption into economic growth and progress. Brazil is one of ChatGPT's three largest markets by weekly active users: the number of users in the country has nearly doubled over the past year, and Brazilians now send about 215 million messages to ChatGPT every day. In its announcement, OpenAI framed the move as being about more than scale, pointing to the creativity of Brazil's entrepreneurs, businesses and developers who are building distinct AI use cases locally, and describing the launch as a long-term commitment to the country.

An independent study by RegLab, funded by OpenAI, estimates that AI could add nearly R$1 trillion (Brazilian reais) to Brazil's economy by 2030. OpenAI cautions that realizing this will take more than access to the technology itself: it will also require skills, research, responsible deployment and close collaboration with Brazilian institutions.

New country-level data shows usage shifting from experimentation to daily work. In June 2026, 35% of classified messages from individual ChatGPT accounts in Brazil were work related, compared with 30% globally, and 53% of those Brazilian work-related messages asked ChatGPT to complete a task or produce an output, such as drafting proposals, analyzing information, writing code or creating marketing materials. OpenAI points to two entrepreneurs as examples: jewelry designer Lina Prades, who started by using ChatGPT for social media content and expanded into advertising, pricing, inventory and production, eventually building two management apps herself despite having no technical background (one now runs her daily operations, the other could become a product for other jewelers); and Ariane Santos of the food business Tapioca da Ari, who uses ChatGPT to develop recipes, refine menus and communicate more consistently with customers.

Brazil's developer ecosystem is growing quickly too. It ranks second globally by number of developers using the OpenAI API and is Codex's largest market in Latin America: weekly Codex users in Brazil have grown more than elevenfold and daily interactions nearly thirtyfold since the start of 2026. Adoption inside organizations is accelerating as well, with ChatGPT Enterprise seats up fivefold year over year and Brazil now among OpenAI's ten largest markets by number of business customers, using the technology across financial services, commerce, mobility, customer service, software development and internal operations.

The launch comes with a set of named partnerships. OpenAI is working with the Instituto Tecnológico de Aeronáutica (ITA) to provide ChatGPT Edu accounts to students, faculty and staff, along with credits for advanced capabilities including reasoning models and Codex. Through OpenAI's global grants program, the Instituto de Matemática Pura e Aplicada (IMPA) will study what research institutions need to translate AI access into scientific progress, and the Hospital das Clínicas da Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo (HCFMUSP) will evaluate a people-first clinical information infrastructure prototype for Brazil's public health system that preserves physician judgment and human oversight. OpenAI and ENTER, a Brazilian AI unicorn in the legal sector, are developing a national AI literacy program for legal professionals across Brazil, combining ChatGPT use with training in using AI critically, safely and effectively. Together with Estímulo, OpenAI is developing free, mobile-first AI training for micro and small-business owners covering marketing, sales, customer service, finance, productivity and management. And OpenAI and the city of São Paulo, through Prodam, signed a memorandum of understanding to make AI available to São Paulo and more public administrations across Brazil.

The launch was preceded by a week of events. OpenAI's first 'OpenAI para Devs' roadshow, delivered entirely in Portuguese, brought together 285 developers, startup engineers, founders, technical creators and other builders across Recife, Rio de Janeiro, Florianópolis and São Paulo for technical presentations, live Codex demonstrations and workshops with local partners Adapta and Brendi. It culminated in the OpenAI Hackathon Brasil, a full-day event in São Paulo. The winning team built, entirely with Codex, a prototype that lets entrepreneurs describe their business by voice, matches them against public procurement opportunities and eligibility requirements using public data, and maps nearby public-sector demand, completing the project in just a few hours.

OpenAI also points to Brazil's creative use of its consumer products: the country has the world's highest rate of ChatGPT Images use and ranks among the five largest markets for voice and dictation, with weekly voice users doubling over the past year. That shows up in a collaboration with Brazilian artist Alcione, who explored ChatGPT Voice in a conversation about love and relationships, and in OpenAI's first-ever Creators Day in São Paulo, where creators including visual artist Dell Nunes (who uses AI to portray Brazil's diversity and its urban peripheries), Paulo Aguiar (who works across text, image, video and music while keeping human creative direction central) and Thaís Martan (who plans to use ChatGPT Work during a catamaran journey) took part.

Key facts

Brazil is one of ChatGPT's three largest markets by weekly active users; the user count has nearly doubled over the past year, and Brazilians now send about 215 million messages to ChatGPT a day.
In June 2026, 35% of individual ChatGPT users' classified messages from Brazil were work related, versus 30% globally, and 53% of Brazil's work-related messages asked ChatGPT to complete a task or produce an output.
Brazil ranks second globally by number of developers using the OpenAI API and is Codex's largest market in Latin America, with weekly Codex users up more than elevenfold and daily interactions up nearly thirtyfold since the start of 2026.
ChatGPT Enterprise seats in Brazil have grown fivefold year over year, and Brazil is now among OpenAI's ten largest markets by number of business customers.
Ahead of the launch, an 'OpenAI para Devs' roadshow drew 285 participants across four Brazilian cities and ended in a hackathon whose winning team used Codex to build a tool matching small businesses to public procurement opportunities.

Why it matters

Brazil is already one of ChatGPT's three largest markets by weekly active users, with the number of users nearly doubling over the past year and Brazilians now sending about 215 million messages a day, and it is OpenAI's largest Latin American market for Codex. Formalizing commercial operations with a dedicated São Paulo team lets OpenAI work directly with Brazilian businesses, developers, researchers and government bodies rather than serving the country only through the existing product. It is a scaling and localization step for an already dominant platform rather than a new product launch or technical release.

Who it affects

OpenAI names Brazilian businesses, developers, researchers and public institutions as the audiences for its new local team. The announcement gives specific examples rather than staying general: entrepreneurs Lina Prades and Ariane Santos; students, faculty and staff at the engineering school ITA; researchers at IMPA; the public hospital HCFMUSP; legal professionals reached through the ENTER training program; micro and small-business owners reached through Estímulo; the city of São Paulo's public administration via Prodam; and creators including Alcione, Dell Nunes, Paulo Aguiar and Thaís Martan.

How to use it

OpenAI lists concrete access points rather than a general pitch. ITA students, faculty and staff get ChatGPT Edu accounts plus credits for reasoning models and Codex. Micro and small-business owners can get free, mobile-first AI training through Estímulo, covering marketing, sales, customer service, finance, productivity and management. Legal professionals get a national AI literacy program built with ENTER, combining ChatGPT use with training on using it critically and safely. More broadly, the new local team says it will help Brazilian organizations identify use cases, prepare their people, set up governance and scale what works. No pricing, subscription tier or revenue figure is given for the Brazil operation itself.

How solid is it

The account comes entirely from OpenAI's own announcement, so the usage figures, growth multiples and market rankings, such as being 'one of the three largest markets' or 'among the ten largest markets by business customers', are the company's self-reported statistics rather than independently audited numbers. The single external data point, the estimate that AI could add nearly R$1 trillion to Brazil's economy by 2030, comes from a study by RegLab that OpenAI itself funded, not an unaffiliated body. The opening quote about Brazil's community and creativity is not attributed to any named speaker in the announcement.

Risks and caveats

Several of the strongest-sounding numbers are relative multiples without a stated base: 'more than elevenfold' Codex user growth, 'nearly thirtyfold' growth in daily Codex interactions and a 'fivefold' rise in Enterprise seats all lack the underlying starting counts. Brazil's exact rank within 'the three largest markets' or 'the ten largest markets by business customers' is not given, and no investment amount, revenue figure or local headcount is disclosed for the new São Paulo team. The hackathon's winning team is not named. The R$1 trillion figure is a 2030 projection from an OpenAI-funded study, not a committed investment or a guaranteed outcome.

“The most exciting part isn’t just the scale of adoption. It’s the creativity and the energy behind it. Brazil has an extraordinary community of entrepreneurs, businesses and developers that are finding distinct ways to put AI to work and building in Brazil for Brazil.”

— unnamed voice in OpenAI's announcement