Altman and Amodei Spark AI Rivalry Drama at India Summit with Handshake Snub

At the India AI Impact Summit in New Delhi on February 19, 2026, a seemingly minor gesture — the refusal to shake hands — became a defining moment in the escalating rivalry between two of the world’s most influential artificial intelligence companies. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, both keynote speakers at the summit, stood side by side during a panel discussion on AI safety and global regulation. When invited to share a symbolic handshake to represent unity in the AI community, both men paused, exchanged glances, and declined — each offering a polite nod instead. The moment, captured by multiple media outlets and quickly went viral across social and professional networks.

According to Firstpost, the incident occurred during a segment moderated by Indian tech minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, who had explicitly called for "collaborative leadership" among AI pioneers. "We are not here to compete for optics," Vaishnaw remarked, "but to build a future where AI serves humanity, not corporate egos." Yet the refusal to connect physically underscored a deeper divide. Analysts suggest the snub reflects more than personal tension; it symbolizes a fundamental philosophical and strategic rift between OpenAI’s rapid commercialization model and Anthropic’s emphasis on cautious, value-aligned development.

While neither company issued an official statement, sources familiar with the internal dynamics told CNBC that Altman has increasingly prioritized scaling GPT-5 and securing global market dominance, including partnerships with Microsoft and direct consumer product rollouts. In contrast, Amodei has publicly criticized what he calls OpenAI’s "growth-at-all-costs" approach, warning in a 2025 Wired interview that "speed without safeguards is a path to systemic risk." The India summit, attended by over 12,000 delegates from 80 countries, was intended as a platform for cooperation — making the handshake refusal all the more conspicuous.

The incident has drawn sharp reactions from the AI ethics community. "This isn’t just about two CEOs," said Dr. Priya Mehta, director of the Center for Responsible AI at IIT Delhi. "It’s a microcosm of the broader struggle between open innovation and controlled alignment. When leaders refuse to even acknowledge each other’s presence symbolically, it sends a message that collaboration is optional — and that’s dangerous." Meanwhile, on Hacker News, users debated whether the gesture was a calculated PR move or genuine animosity, with over 70% of comments suggesting the latter.

Industry observers note that both companies are locked in a race to influence global AI policy. Anthropic has recently gained traction with governments in the EU and Canada for its Constitutional AI framework, while OpenAI is lobbying heavily in the U.S. and Asia for regulatory flexibility. The India summit, seen as a potential bellwether for emerging market AI policy, became an unexpected battleground.

As the AI industry hurtles toward regulatory crossroads, the handshake that never happened may come to be remembered as the moment the myth of AI unity was shattered. Whether this fracture leads to greater accountability or deeper fragmentation remains to be seen. For now, the world watches — not just for what these companies build, but how they choose to relate to each other.