Modi raises his hand, and the whole audience cheers, but the two AI leaders each clenched their fists in an awkward standoff

CryptocurrencySniper · 2026-02-21T21:36:31+00:00

At the India Artificial Intelligence Summit, the incident where the CEOs of OpenAI and Anthropic did not shake hands sparked widespread discussion. Amid increasing competition, both companies raised their fists in a show of strength, highlighting the tense relationship between them. OpenAI holds a first-mover advantage in the market, while Anthropic gains attention through new models. The two have clear differences in their business philosophies.

CryptocurrencySniper

2026-02-21 21:36:31

Abstract generation in progress

At the Artificial Intelligence Influence Summit in India, the CEOs of two American AI companies, OpenAI and Anthropic, deliberately did not shake hands during a group photo, sparking widespread discussion.

On Thursday, local time (February 19), Indian Prime Minister Modi delivered a speech at the summit and took photos with tech company executives.

Amid applause, Modi主动raised the hands of Sam Altman and Google CEO Sundar Pichai, with others following suit.

However, Sam Altman and Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, who was sitting next to him, did not shake hands but instead raised their fists in a gesture, which appeared particularly awkward.

Photos of the two refusing to shake hands quickly circulated on social media. Siddharth Bhatia, co-founder of AI startup Puch AI, joked, “When will AGI arrive? Maybe when Dario and Sam shake hands.”

Justine Moore, investment partner at venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, reposted the photo with the caption, “It’s like being forced to do a group project with a competitor.”

At a time when OpenAI and Anthropic are in fierce competition, OpenAI’s market value is about $500 billion, while Anthropic’s is approximately $380 billion. The two companies are vying for the position of the world’s preferred AI model among consumers.

With ChatGPT, OpenAI still holds a slight first-mover advantage. Recently, several new models launched by Anthropic have garnered high attention, even raising concerns in the market about the “moat” of software上市公司.

It is worth noting that most of Anthropic’s founding team came from OpenAI; Amodei previously served as Vice President of Research at OpenAI. When founded, Anthropic emphasized deploying AI technology in a “safe, controllable, and responsible” manner.

Amodei and Altman have repeatedly expressed their disdain for each other’s business models and philosophies in public. Recently, the two also exchanged barbs over the issue of whether to include advertising in AI products.

(Source: Caixin)

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