OpenAI CEO Sam Altman on Thursday addressed an awkward onstage moment involving rival AI firm Anthropic's CEO Dario Amodei during a group photograph with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the India AI Impact Summit in New Delhi.
"I was sort of confused and didn't know what I was supposed to do," Altman said later at the summit's inaugural session, recalling the incident.
The moment occurred at Bharat Mandapam after the opening ceremony, when several global technology leaders joined the Prime Minister for a photo opportunity. Among those present were Sundar Pichai, Alexandr Wang, Sarvam co-founder Pratyush Kumar, and Demis Hassabis.
"I didn't know what was happening on stage. I was confused. Modi grabbed my hand and put it up, and I just wasn't sure what we were supposed to be doing."
— Ranvijay Singh (@ranvijaylive) February 19, 2026
- Sam Altman pic.twitter.com/CjrVyP65Yv
During the photo op, most leaders held hands and raised them together. Altman and Amodei, however, appeared momentarily unsure of the gesture and eventually raised their fists instead.
"I didn't know what was happening. Prime Minister Modi grabbed my hand and lifted it, and I just wasn't sure what we were supposed to be doing. I thought it was the open clock," Altman said.
Altman, 40, and Amodei, 43, previously worked together at OpenAI until 2019. In 2020, Amodei and his sister Daniela, along with several senior OpenAI researchers, left the company amid disagreements over its direction and later founded Anthropic.
Since then, competition between OpenAI and Anthropic has evolved into a broader commercial and strategic rivalry. Earlier, Anthropic aired satirical Super Bowl advertisements that mocked OpenAI's reported plans to introduce advertising into ChatGPT.
