India’s rapid AI adoption, China’s open source lead: Mary Meeker report

Mary Meeker’s 2025 AI trends report highlights the unprecedented speed of AI adoption, with ChatGPT reaching 100 million users in under three months. It projects 50% of US households will adopt AI platforms within three years. India, a key AI market, leads in ChatGPT mobile app users and contributes significantly to China’s DeepSeek platform. The report contrasts closed AI models like GPT-4, favored by enterprises, with open-source models driving community innovation. Challenges include biases, misinformation, and low revenue per user.

Renowned venture capitalist Mary Meeker, often dubbed the "Queen of the Internet," has released her first major trends report since 2019, focusing on the transformative impact of artificial intelligence (AI). Titled Trends — Artificial Intelligence, the 340-page report highlights the rapid pace of AI adoption, its decreasing costs, and its disruptive potential, while also addressing its challenges. Meeker’s central theme is clear: the evolution of AI is unfolding at an "unprecedented" scale and speed.

Accelerated AI Adoption

AI platforms are reshaping the technology landscape with adoption rates that far outstrip previous tech disruptions. According to the report, while platforms like Instagram, WhatsApp, and YouTube took 2-4 years to reach 100 million users, OpenAI’s ChatGPT achieved this milestone in less than three months.

Looking forward, the report projects that 50% of US households will adopt AI platforms within just three years, a stark contrast to the 6-12 years it took for mobile and desktop internet to achieve similar penetration.

India’s Role in AI Growth

India’s vast population and widespread internet access have made it a vital market for AI adoption. The report notes that India is the second-largest market for ChatGPT, contributing 13.5% of its mobile app users, surpassing the US (8.9%) and Germany (3%).

India also ranks third in user base for China’s AI platform DeepSeek, with 6.9% of users, following China (33.9%) and Russia (9.2%). Interestingly, because ChatGPT is banned in both China and Russia, Indian users significantly bolster DeepSeek’s global user base despite the availability of competing Western platforms.

Diverging Philosophies: Open vs. Closed AI Models

Meeker’s report underscores two dominant approaches to developing AI models: closed and open source.

Closed models, such as OpenAI’s GPT-4 and Anthropic’s Claude, rely on proprietary systems, datasets, and massive computing resources. While these models offer superior performance and user-friendly interfaces, their lack of transparency limits access to underlying data, training methods, and fine-tuning processes. Such models dominate enterprise and consumer markets due to their reliability and ease of use.

In contrast, open-source platforms like Hugging Face facilitate access to models such as Meta’s Llama and Mistral’s Mixtral. These tools empower startups, researchers, and governments to experiment with cutting-edge AI without incurring billion-dollar expenses. Open-source models are particularly valuable for fostering local language development, sovereign AI initiatives, and community-driven innovation.

China’s Lead in Open-Source AI

The report highlights China’s dominance in the open-source AI space. As of Q2 2025, China has released three large-scale open-source models: DeepSeek-R1, Alibaba Qwen-32B, and Baidu Ernie 4.5. This leadership contrasts with Western AI development, which often prioritizes proprietary, closed systems.

Meeker describes the split as a battle of philosophies: “freedom vs. control, speed vs. safety, openness vs. optimization.” The divergent approaches are shaping not only the functionality of AI but also determining who can access and leverage it.

Challenges and Opportunities

Despite the optimism surrounding AI, the report warns of significant challenges. Issues like hallucinations, biases, misinformation, and lagging regulation remain pressing concerns. Additionally, while AI platforms have rapidly amassed users, revenue per user remains low, with a median of just $23.

Mary Meeker’s latest report paints a compelling picture of AI’s transformative potential and its unprecedented adoption curve. With India emerging as a key player in AI usage and China leading open-source innovation, the global AI landscape is evolving rapidly. As AI continues to shape industries and societies, the balance between open and closed models, along with effective regulation, will play a critical role in determining its future trajectory.