While India has long led the world in total downloads, the report highlights a significant shift toward monetization, with OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Anthropic’s Claude capturing nearly 83% of the revenue within the AI app segment.
The surge in spending indicates that India is evolving from a high-volume download hub into a high-growth revenue market, outpacing the growth rates of other major economies like Mexico and Turkey.
According to Sensor Tower, this transition is supported by the widespread adoption of the Unified Payments Interface, a national system enabling instant bank-to-bank transfers, and digital wallets that simplify in-app purchases.
This infrastructure has reduced the difficulty of completing transactions, encouraging users to pay for premium subscriptions such as Google One and various video streaming platforms.
While India’s revenue per download remains lower than in mature markets like the United States or Japan, the country’s monetization trajectory suggests substantial long-term potential for global developers.
Non-gaming apps now account for 68% of total mobile revenue in the country, up from 58% three years ago.
Although some analysts note that the initial surge in AI-related spending has leveled off since its peak, the market continues to attract millions of new users, with platforms like ChatGPT maintaining high daily revenue and download figures.