Modi’s AI unity pose turns awkward for Altman and Amodei
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Indian PM Narendra Modi (seventh from left) and global tech leaders at the AI Impact Summit in New Delhi on Feb 19.
PHOTO: REUTERS
NEW DELHI – When Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi nudged speakers at the India AI summit to join and raise their hands in a symbolic show of unity, most executives obliged.
Two did not: rivals Sam Altman of OpenAI and Dario Amodei of Anthropic.
The two, who are locked in one of Silicon Valley’s fiercest commercial rivalries, were standing side by side as the 13 corporate leaders joined Mr Modi on stage, but they kept their raised fists conspicuously apart.
Mr Altman appeared visibly uncomfortable, looking away as the others, including Alphabet’s Sundar Pichai, went along with Mr Modi’s nudge and joined hands.
The episode, captured on camera and widely shared across social media, drew amused and pointed reactions online, with many users describing it as emblematic of the “AI cold war” between OpenAI and Anthropic.
“I didn’t know what was happening on stage. I wasn’t sure what we were supposed to be doing,” Mr Altman later told news website Moneycontrol.
OpenAI and Anthropic did not respond to Reuters requests for comment.
Mr Bill Gates pulled out of India’s summit
However, the summit has attracted more than US$200 billion (S$253 billion) in investment pledges.
Anthropic was co-founded in 2021 by Dr Dario Amodei and other former OpenAI employees who broke away over disagreements about safety, commercialisation, and Altman’s leadership style.
The rift has since hardened into a full-blown commercial war.
At the 2026 Super Bowl, Anthropic aired satirical commercials taking a pointed jab at OpenAI’s plans to introduce advertising inside ChatGPT. REUTERS
