Sam Altman to Visit India on Feb 5 Amid Legal Battles

Sources said on Monday that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, the creator of ChatGPT, is expected to visit India on February 5. During his trip, he is likely to meet with senior government officials and participate in an industry fireside chat.

Altman’s visit, his second in two years, comes at a pivotal moment as OpenAI’s dominance in artificial intelligence faces a sudden challenge from the Chinese startup Deepseek. The company has garnered attention with its low-cost AI model, R1, developed for under USD 6 million and using far less computing power than popular models like ChatGPT.

Deepseek recently surpassed ChatGPT as the top-ranked free app on Apple’s App Store, leaving the US tech industry which has long defended massive AI investments in shock.

Meanwhile, AI chipmaker Nvidia, a Wall Street giant, saw a dramatic loss of USD 590 billion in market value last Monday, marking the largest one-day drop in history.

Sources revealed that during his visit, Altman is expected to participate in a fireside chat in New Delhi and meet with senior government officials, though no further details were provided.

Last month, former US President Donald Trump revealed a plan to secure up to USD 500 billion in private sector investment for AI infrastructure. The new venture, Stargate, formed in collaboration with Oracle, SoftBank, and Microsoft-backed OpenAI, will further bolster tech companies’ significant investments in US data centers—massive facilities packed with servers that deliver immense computing power.

On Monday, SoftBank Group and OpenAI deepened their AI collaboration with the launch of SB OpenAI Japan, a joint venture with equal ownership.

Altman’s visit coincides with OpenAI facing legal challenges in India, including allegations of copyright violations. However, OpenAI has reportedly asserted that it only uses publicly available data and argued that Indian courts lack jurisdiction over the case.

As the global tech landscape becomes increasingly complex and dynamic, India is strengthening its sovereign interests by developing its own AI model.

Last week, India unveiled its ambitious plans to create a "foundational model" capable of competing with ChatGPT, DeepSeek R1, and other global players. The country also introduced a "most affordable" shared computing facility, equipped with 18,693 GPUs, to support startups and researchers in developing AI applications and new algorithms.

IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced that India is ready to launch its own secure and affordable indigenous AI model. He highlighted that, while global models charge USD 2.5-3 per hour, India's AI will cost under Rs 100 per hour (USD 1.16 per hour) after a 40% government subsidy.

The minister expressed confidence that India will develop a world-class foundational model capable of competing with the best AI models worldwide.