Reuters has learnt that, with the situation in the country undergoing review as the AI company enters a legal morass, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who is backed by Microsoft, is likely to make a visit to India on February 5th after two years.
Altman’s agenda reportedly includes visits to the office of some of the government people in New Delhi, although his schedule is yet to be confirmed and dates are subject to change.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman Faces Legal Hurdles, But Why Would He Visit India?
As the second largest user base of OpenAI after the United States, India is a prime example of the key role India plays in the context of AI. However, the company is embroiled in a copyright lawsuit in India by local traditional media houses like ANI.
Brought in late 2024 the litigation is a legal dispute over the alleged repetition of copyrighted works in OpenAI’s AI models. The leading publishing houses (publishing houses of Indian tycoons, Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani) are also part of the case. OpenAI has also championed such practice, claiming that its free data exploitation is fair use, and contested the jurisdiction of the Indian courts to pronounce on this matter.
DeepSeek’s Rise Shakes AI Dominance
At the same time, another AI player, called DeepSeek, has emerged, that is a Chinese startup company (headed by Liang Wenfeng). [R]Only recently, DeepSeek’s AI companion picked up the “top rated free app” on Apple U.S. App Store title and beat ChatGPT by a narrow margin, implications for the AI community for far reaching consequences.
Wenfeng, who characterizes his project as more curiosity-based than commercially-based, has been contrasted with the revolutionary potential of technology at both national and global scales. Since the advent of DeepSeek the technology market has experienced a regime change that will influence the shape of the AI competitive landscape to come.
Looking Ahead
Altman’s proposed trip to India may help guide OpenAI’s approach in a market that is growing rapidly and legally challenging. Until then, the emergence of DeepSeek suggests a shift in the power equilibrium between AIs. Over at OpenAI, there is the question of how is the company going to handle the regulatory waters, even as competition is on the rise?
Also, see: U.S. Federal Reserve Meeting: Global Markets React as Wall Street Braces for Impact