OpenAI and Anthropic expand in India amid public rivalry

The India AI Impact Summit in New Delhi this week saw a moment of public friction between OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei. During a photo opportunity at the event, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi prompted the speakers onstage to join hands and raise them in a show of solidarity. While the other executives onstage obliged in what was intended to be a demonstration of united commitment to global tech innovation, Altman and Amodei did not join hands, holding them noticeably apart instead.

Despite the public friction between their chief executives, both companies are simultaneously expanding their footprint in the region. The summit in New Delhi saw a variety of AI-related investments, features, and products being announced, including major expansion plans from both rivals. OpenAI announced that it is opening two new offices in India. In addition to the new offices, OpenAI is partnering with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), an Indian IT services giant, and deploying tools for higher education.

Anthropic is pursuing a similar expansion strategy in the country. The company has opened an office in India and teamed up with Infosys, another Indian IT services giant. The partnership with Infosys is aimed at the internal and external deployment of Anthropic’s artificial intelligence tools.

The onstage awkwardness reflects a fierce corporate rivalry between the leaders of the two AI labs, which has intensified in recent months. The dispute escalated after OpenAI announced that it would bring advertisements to its ChatGPT platform. In response, Anthropic took a swipe at OpenAI in a couple of advertisements during the Super Bowl, declaring that it would never introduce ads into Claude, its own AI chatbot.

Altman hit back soon after, calling Anthropic “dishonest” and “authoritarian.” Commenting on the competitor’s campaign, Altman stated: “We would obviously never run ads in the way Anthropic depicts them. We are not stupid, and we know our users would reject that.”

Why it matters

The corporate rivalry between OpenAI and Anthropic is expanding as both companies target India for strategic growth. By establishing local offices and securing partnerships with Indian IT services giants, both entities are positioning themselves to capture market share in a critical technology hub in the region.