Altman Set to Visit India as New Delhi Hosts Landmark Global AI Summit

NEW DELHI: OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is planning a visit to India in mid-February, his first in nearly a year, coinciding with New Delhi’s preparations to host a major international artificial intelligence summit, according to people familiar with the matter.

India will host its first large-scale AI gathering, the India AI Impact Summit 2026, from February 16 to 20 in the national capital. The event is expected to draw top global technology leaders, including Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, along with leading Indian industrialists such as Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani. While Altman is not yet listed as a confirmed speaker, OpenAI is planning a series of closed-door meetings on the sidelines of the summit where he is expected to participate.

OpenAI is also set to host a private event in New Delhi on February 19 for venture capitalists and senior industry executives. Altman’s travel plans have not been formally announced and remain subject to change, the sources said.

Several U.S.-based AI companies are organising parallel events during the summit week, underlining India’s rising stature in the global AI landscape. Anthropic has confirmed a developers’ day in Bengaluru on February 16, while Nvidia is expected to host a networking event in New Delhi. These initiatives reflect a broader push by global AI firms to engage with India’s enterprise customers, startups, and developer community.

Altman last visited India in February 2025 and had earlier indicated plans to return later that year after OpenAI announced a New Delhi office, a visit that did not take place. His upcoming trip comes at a time when India has become a key growth market for American AI companies. Anthropic has recently opened an office in Bengaluru, while Google and Perplexity have partnered with Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel to bundle AI services for millions of users.

OpenAI has been steadily expanding its presence in India, hiring across enterprise sales, technical deployment, and policy roles in New Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru. India is now ChatGPT’s largest market by downloads and second-largest by users, though converting this scale into paid subscriptions remains a challenge. To address this, OpenAI introduced a lower-priced “ChatGPT Go” plan to accelerate adoption.

During the visit, Altman is expected to meet government officials, startup founders, and technology leaders as OpenAI looks to deepen enterprise adoption while maintaining broad consumer reach. With the government projecting that the summit could help attract up to $100 billion in AI investment, the event is seen as a milestone in India’s ambition to emerge as a global AI hub