OpenAI chief Sam Altman plans India visit in early February: Report

OpenAI chief Sam Altman

Microsoft-backed OpenAI's chief Sam Altman is planning to visit India next week, in what could be his first visit in two years at a time when the company faces legal challenges in the country, Reuters reported.

Altman has scheduled his trip to New Delhi for February 5, the report added citing sources. One of the sources said a meeting with government officials was also on the cards.

But the schedule is not finalised and his plans could still change, the report added.

OpenAI, India's IT ministry and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's office did not respond to requests for comment from the publication.

OpenAI has said India is its second-largest market by number of users, after the United States.

Altman visited India in 2023 when he met Modi in New Delhi and discussed the potential of AI in boosting India's tech ecosystem.

Since then, OpenAI has faced several legal challenges in India. A lawsuit against it claiming breaches of copyright began last year after local news agency ANI challenged it in a New Delhi court.

Book publishers and almost a dozen digital media outlets, including those owned by billionaires Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani, have also since joined the case.

OpenAI has said it only uses publicly available data in a manner protected by fair use principles, and has said Indian courts have no jurisdiction to hear the matter.

Separately, a global tech market rout was triggered this week after the emergence of Chinese AI rival DeepSeek. DeepSeek's AI Assistant has overtaken ChatGPT to become the top-rated free app on Apple's App Store in the United States.