Stage Optics Draw Online Attention
An onstage photo at the India AI Impact Summit sparked online chatter after OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei raised their fists rather than holding hands during a group moment with global leaders.
The two executives stood alongside Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Google CEO Sundar Pichai during a public display of unity. Modi lifted Altman and Pichai’s hands as the audience applauded. When it came to Altman and Amodei, however, the pair opted for a brief fist raise instead of clasping hands.
The moment quickly circulated on social media, where commentators interpreted it through the lens of intensifying competition between their companies.
Rivalry in the Spotlight
OpenAI and Anthropic are two of the leading artificial intelligence labs competing to shape the future of large language models. OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Anthropic’s Claude are battling for consumer and enterprise adoption worldwide.
The rivalry has recently extended into public exchanges over potential monetization strategies, including advertising in AI products. Anthropic aired Super Bowl advertisements that appeared to take aim at OpenAI’s exploration of ad-supported tiers. Altman criticized the campaign, calling it misleading.
Anthropic executives responded by emphasizing the company’s focus on product development and long-term business growth rather than headline-grabbing tactics.
Debates Over AI Safety and Direction
Anthropic, founded in 2021 by former OpenAI researchers including Amodei, has positioned itself as a safety-focused AI lab. During his remarks at the summit, Amodei highlighted risks such as autonomous AI behavior, misuse by state or non-state actors, and potential job displacement.
Altman, speaking later, said AI safety must also consider broader societal resilience. “We believe no AI lab can deliver a good future on their own,” he said, underscoring the need for collaboration across companies and governments.
Big Stakes in a Growing Market
Both firms have secured billions of dollars in funding as they compete for market share, infrastructure scale and regulatory influence. India, with a rapidly expanding AI user base, has become a key stage for that competition.
While the photo moment may have appeared symbolic, it reflected a deeper contest over technological leadership, business models and the direction of artificial intelligence governance.
