OpenAI CEO Sam Altman Plans India Visit Amid AI Summit in New Delhi

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is set to visit India in mid-February, his first trip to the country in nearly a year, as New Delhi hosts the India AI Impact Summit 2026. The summit, scheduled for February 16-20, will bring together global tech leaders including Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and Google CEO Sundar Pichai. Although Altman is not listed as an official attendee, OpenAI plans closed-door meetings during the event, with a separate gathering on February 19 inviting venture capitalists and industry executives. Altman’s visit highlights India’s growing importance as a market for U.S. AI firms. Recent developments include Anthropic opening an office in Bengaluru and Google partnering with Reliance Jio. Despite India being ChatGPT’s largest download market, OpenAI faces challenges converting demand into paid subscriptions, prompting a lower-priced subscription plan. The trip also reflects OpenAI’s interest in India as a potential base for infrastructure expansion amid government efforts to attract $100 billion in AI investment. Constraints such as power availability and high energy costs remain challenges for AI infrastructure development.