Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei Recalls Viral Hand Raise Moment With OpenAI CEO Sam Altman; Calls India AI Summit Disorganised
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has explained the viral moment at the India AI Impact Summit where he and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman appeared reluctant to hold hands on stage. Amodei said the incident resulted from confusion and last-minute changes during a 'disorganised' event. He clarified he was not criticising India and said many international summits involving heads of state can be chaotic.
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has offered an explanation for a viral moment from the India AI Impact Summit earlier this year, where he and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman appeared to refuse to hold hands on stage. The incident sparked widespread speculation about the relationship between the two AI leaders and the rivalry between their companies.
Speaking in an interview with Bloomberg, Amodei said the episode was not the result of corporate tensions but stemmed from confusion during the event. He also clarified that he was not specifically criticising India, adding that many large international summits involving heads of state can be chaotic and poorly coordinated behind the scenes. India’s AI Opportunity Is Amazing: Sam Altman Hails Country as OpenAI’s Fastest Growing Market at India AI Impact Summit 2026.
Dario Amodei Calls India AI Summit Disorganised, Recalls Viral Hand Raise Moment With Altman
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Journalist: You refused to hold hands with Open AI CEO Sam Altman at the India AI Summit. What happened?
Anthropic CEO Amodei (laughing): The summit was extremely disorganised. We came up on stage at the last minute. They changed our places. Then Modi made us all hold hands. pic.twitter.com/iU97GmhNR5
— Shashank Mattoo (@MattooShashank) June 18, 2026
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei Interview Full Video
Dario Amodei Recalls Viral Hand Raise Moment With Sam Altman
Addressing the incident, Amodei described the event as highly disorganised and said participants received instructions at the last minute. “The summit was extremely disorganised,” Amodei told Bloomberg. “We all came up at the last minute and they like changed the order in which we were standing, and then like, they took a picture of us and then they ordered us all to like, hold hands.”
The moment quickly circulated online, with many interpreting it as evidence of friction between the executives of two of the world's most prominent artificial intelligence companies. A Camera on the Forehead for USD 3 an Hour: Meet the Indian Workers Training AI Robots.
Clarifies Remarks Were Not Directed at India
Amodei stressed that his comments were not intended as criticism of India. “I am not saying anything bad about India in particular, but like all of these kind of international type summits that have like heads of state are like super disorganised,” he said.
He recalled that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was present on stage when organisers asked participants to hold hands. “There was like, you know, Narendra Modi up there suddenly telling everyone to like, suddenly telling everyone to hold hands,” Amodei said. According to Amodei, confusion and last-minute changes were responsible for the awkward interaction rather than any personal disagreement.
The comments come as interest continues to grow around the competition between Anthropic and OpenAI, two of the most closely watched companies in the artificial intelligence sector. Amodei co-founded Anthropic in 2021 after leaving OpenAI along with his sister, Daniela Amodei, and several other employees.
Since its launch, Anthropic has positioned itself as a company focused heavily on AI safety and responsible development.
During the interview, Amodei also spoke about the reasons behind his departure from OpenAI. “There are many valid disagreements to be had on safety. We certainly had some of those disagreements with them, but that alone is not sufficient to leave,” he said. He suggested that concerns about trust ultimately played a larger role in his decision.
“When you feel that you can't trust someone, when you feel that their values are not what they say they are, when you feel that they're not honest, when you feel that they're not in it for the reasons that they say, when you see disturbing patterns of behavior and dishonesty, that makes it very hard to continue to work with a company,” he said.
Amodei said he remains comfortable with the decision to leave and build a competing AI company. “Why argue with someone when you don't have the same vision and you don't trust them? The way to resolve it is you go off and do your thing. They go off and do their thing,” he said. He added that the market and public opinion would ultimately determine which approach proves more successful.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 18, 2026 10:53 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
