OpenAI CEO Sam Altman plans India visit amid legal battles and rising AI competition: Report

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is expected to visit India next week, marking his first trip in two years at a time when the company faces growing legal challenges in the country. Three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters that Altman is scheduled to be in New Delhi on February 5, with a possible meeting with government officials also on the agenda.

However, the schedule is not finalised, and plans could change, the sources cautioned. Neither OpenAI, India’s IT ministry, nor Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s office have commented on the visit.

India is OpenAI’s second-largest market after the United States in terms of user base, making it a crucial region for the company’s growth. Altman last visited in 2023, when he met Prime Minister Modi and discussed how AI could contribute to India’s tech ecosystem.

Since then, OpenAI has come under legal scrutiny in India, particularly over copyright disputes. Local news agency ANI filed a lawsuit against OpenAI in a New Delhi court last year, alleging breaches of copyright. The case has since expanded, with major book publishers and nearly a dozen digital media outlets - including those backed by billionaires Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani - joining the lawsuit.

OpenAI has denied any wrongdoing, stating that its AI models are trained only on publicly available data and are protected under fair use principles. The company has also contested the jurisdiction of Indian courts in the matter.

Altman’s visit comes at a time when competition in the AI space is intensifying. This week, Chinese AI startup DeepSeek made headlines after its AI assistant overtook ChatGPT to become the top-ranked free app on Apple’s App Store in the US. The sudden rise of DeepSeek has contributed to a global tech market rout, raising concerns about OpenAI’s dominance in the sector.