- By Chetna Shree
- Thu, 19 Feb 2026 08:58 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei caught everyone's attention after they raised clenched fists instead of holding each other's hands like others during a group photograph with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the India AI Impact Summit in New Delhi on Thursday.
Addressing the 'no handshake' moment with Amodei, Altman stated that he was 'sort of confused' about what he was supposed to do on the stage.
What Did Sam Altman Say?
Speaking to Moneycontrol, OpenAI's Altman addressed the viral encounter, stating he was confused at the moment. He said that when Prime Minister Narendra Modi grabbed his hand and raised it, he was sort of confused about what he was supposed to do on the stage.
"On the thing on stage, oh, I didn't know what was happening. I was sort of confused, like when he (PM Modi) grabbed my hand and put it up, and I just wasn't sure what we were supposed to be doing," Altman told Moneycontrol.
OpenAI, Anthropic CEOs' Rivarly Caught On Cam At AI Summit
On the fourth day of the India AI Impact Summit in New Delhi on Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was joined on stage for a group photo by several AI leaders, including Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, Meta’s Chief AI Officer Alexandr Wang, Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis, Sarvam co-founder Pratyush Kumar, Altman, and Amodei.
Altman and Amodei, standing next to each other, appeared to hesitate for a few seconds over whether they wanted hold hands. Eventually, they raised clenched fists instead of holding each other's hands like others.
ALSO READ: India AI Impact Summit 2026: Sam Altman Says 'AI Will Definitely Impact The Job Market, But..'
The Rivalry Between OpenAI And Anthropic
The awkward onstage moment highlighted the alleged rivalry between Sam Altman's OpenAI and Dario Amodei's Anthropic. Anthropic was founded in 2021 by former OpenAI executives, including Amodei, who previously served as OpenAI’s Vice President of Research, News18 reported.
In 2020, Amodei, his sister Daniela Amodei, and other senior researchers departed from OpenAI due to fundamental disagreements over the company’s commercial direction and governance.