According to three sources familiar with the situation, Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI backed by Microsoft, is expected to visit India next week, marking his first visit in two years. It is reported that Altman has scheduled his trip to New Delhi for Feb. 5, with a potential meeting with government officials on the agenda.
Although the itinerary is not yet finalized and subject to change, OpenAI, India's IT ministry, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's office did not provide any comments as of now.
OpenAI has highlighted India as its second-largest market in terms of users, following the United States. Altman's last visit to India was in 2023, during which he interacted with Modi regarding the potential of AI to enhance India's technology sector.
Following the previous visit, OpenAI has encountered legal challenges in India, including a copyright infringement case initiated by local news agency ANI in a New Delhi court. Additionally, book publishers and several digital media outlets, including those affiliated with billionaires Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani, have joined the litigation.
OpenAI has defended its practices by stating that it only utilizes publicly available data in a manner consistent with fair use principles, emphasizing the need for Indian courts to address the matter.
In a separate development, the tech industry witnessed a significant event this week with the rise of Chinese AI competitor DeepSeek, which surpassed ChatGPT to become the top-rated free app on Apple's App Store in the United States.