tech
February 19, 2026
OpenAI and Anthropic’s rivalry on display as CEOs avoid holding hands at AI summit
OpenAI’s Sam Altman and Anthropic’s Dario Amodei had an awkward moment at a major AI summit, with the two CEOs of competing AI giants opting not to link hands.

TL;DR
- Sam Altman (OpenAI) and Dario Amodei (Anthropic) avoided holding hands at the India AI Impact Summit.
- The two CEOs were on stage with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Google CEO Sundar Pichai.
- The companies OpenAI and Anthropic are in direct competition, recently trading barbs over AI advertising.
- The moment was captured and shared widely on social media, interpreted as a sign of their rivalry.
- Anthropic previously released Super Bowl ads criticizing OpenAI's plans for ads in AI models.
- Altman and Amodei also gave speeches at the summit discussing AI safety and risks.
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