Lead
On February 19, 2026, at India’s AI Impact Summit in New Delhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi staged a high-profile photo moment with 13 other business and political leaders. The staged line saw a widely circulated image of participants holding hands aloft — but Sam Altman (OpenAI) and Dario Amodei (Anthropic) notably did not join the linked-hands gesture. The photograph, credited to Ludovic Marin/AFP/Getty Images, drew immediate attention and served as a visual shorthand for persistent rivalries inside the AI industry.
Key Takeaways
- The summit photo op took place on February 19, 2026, during the AI Impact Summit in New Delhi and included Prime Minister Narendra Modi plus 13 other leaders.
- Sam Altman (OpenAI) and Dario Amodei (Anthropic) were positioned near the center of the group but did not participate in raising joined hands, as visible in the AFP/Getty image.
- The image circulated widely across global media and social platforms, prompting commentary about industry divisions and leadership posture.
- The gathering was one of the busiest days of the summit, intended to showcase cooperation between governments and the private sector on AI policy and investment.
- No official statement from either company framed the comportment as a deliberate political message; motives remain unconfirmed.
Background
India convened the AI Impact Summit to highlight investment, regulation, and international collaboration on artificial intelligence. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has sought to position India as a key convenor for global AI governance and industrial opportunity, drawing leaders from government and industry to New Delhi.
Sam Altman, chief executive of OpenAI, and Dario Amodei, chief executive of Anthropic, lead two of the most prominent firms in generative AI. Their companies have competed on model capabilities, safety approaches and commercial deployment; occasional public tensions between firms and leaders have become part of the broader industry narrative.
Main Event
The photo moment arranged by the Indian prime minister placed a line of leaders on a stage, hands raised and linked in an image meant to signify unity and shared purpose. Photographs by Ludovic Marin/AFP, distributed via Getty Images, show many participants clasping hands above their heads as cameras captured the scene.
In the images, Altman and Amodei are visible near the center but are not shown joining hands in the raised-link pose. Observers interpreted the stance as a deviation from the posed unity; neither company issued an immediate on-camera explanation about the posture captured in the photo.
Attendees continued with the summit’s scheduled sessions after the portrait moment. Organizers emphasized the day’s policy and investment agenda; the photograph, however, quickly became the most discussed artifact of the session in media coverage.
Analysis & Implications
Public displays at summits are designed to signal cooperation among diverse stakeholders, and deviations from the scripted posture can carry outsized symbolic weight. For a sector grappling with questions of safety, governance and market concentration, a visible sign of separation between two leading executives invites scrutiny from policymakers and investors alike.
That said, single images can overstate or misread underlying dynamics. Competition between OpenAI and Anthropic spans technology choices, business partnerships and safety priorities, but rivalry onstage does not preclude private collaboration on standards or regulatory engagement. Diplomacy and commercial negotiations often occur in bilateral or small-group meetings not visible to cameras.
For regulators and governments, the photograph may reinforce the urgency of creating frameworks that bring rivals into structured dialogue: whether on model testing, red-teaming, shared benchmarks or data governance. Market actors will watch whether public posturing affects coalition-building in upcoming multilateral talks or standards-setting efforts.
Comparison & Data
| Leader | Organization | Public posture at photo |
|---|---|---|
| Sam Altman | OpenAI | Visible near center; did not raise joined hands |
| Dario Amodei | Anthropic | Visible near center; did not raise joined hands |
| Other leaders (13) | Various companies and governments | Raised linked hands as part of the staged photo |
The table summarizes observable behavior in the widely distributed photograph; it does not attempt to ascribe intent. Contextual data on attendance and specific session outcomes at the summit will be relevant to assessing whether the image reflects deeper policy fracture.
Reactions & Quotes
“Once a rival, always a rival.”
Bloomberg (news report)
“The photograph became the most talked-about moment of the day, prompting commentary on industry unity and discord.”
Bloomberg (news report)
Unconfirmed
- Whether Altman and Amodei declined to join the linked-hands gesture as a coordinated signal between them is unconfirmed.
- There is no publicly available official explanation from either company clarifying why the two executives did not participate in the joined-hands pose.
- Any suggestion that the stance will materially alter formal collaboration on safety standards or regulation remains speculative at this time.
Bottom Line
The New Delhi photo captured on February 19, 2026, is a potent visual that highlights visible tensions between prominent AI leaders, but it is not definitive proof of policy or strategic collapse. Image moments are shorthand; they influence narratives and can accelerate scrutiny by policymakers and markets.
What matters next are concrete actions: statements or agreements emerging from summit follow-ups, bilateral meetings that may have occurred off stage, and participation by industry leaders in structured regulatory dialogues. Observers should watch for official communiqués from summit organizers and any public commitments to shared testing, transparency measures or standards-setting that could counterbalance symbolic division.