OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is planning to visit India in mid-February, marking his first trip to the country in nearly a year. The visit coincides with New Delhi’s preparations to host a major AI summit, the India AI Impact Summit 2026, scheduled for February 16 to 20. The summit is expected to draw top executives from companies like Meta, Google, and Anthropic, along with global figures such as Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and key Indian business leaders like Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani.
While Altman is not currently listed as a confirmed attendee for the main summit, OpenAI is separately planning to host closed-door meetings on the sidelines in New Delhi where he is expected to be present. The company is also hosting an OpenAI event in New Delhi on February 19, with invitations extended to venture capitalists and industry executives. Altman’s visit has not been publicly announced and plans could still change.
Several other U.S. companies are planning side events during the summit week. Anthropic is hosting a developers’ day in Bengaluru on February 16, and Nvidia is set to hold an evening event in New Delhi. This cluster of activities highlights how global AI firms are actively seeking to engage India’s enterprise customers, startup ecosystem, and developer community.
Altman’s last visit to India was in February 2025. He had previously indicated plans to return later that year following OpenAI’s announcement of a New Delhi office in August 2025, but that trip did not materialize.
India has emerged as a key growth market for American AI companies. Recently, Anthropic announced an office in Bengaluru and appointed former Microsoft India managing director Irina Ghose as its local head. Companies like Google and Perplexity have also struck partnerships with Indian telecom giants Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel to bundle premium AI subscriptions for millions of users.
OpenAI has been expanding its presence in India, hiring for roles in enterprise sales, technical deployment, and legal affairs focused on AI regulation, with current openings in New Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru. India is ChatGPT’s biggest market by downloads and its second-largest by users. However, converting this demand into paid subscriptions has been a challenge, leading OpenAI to introduce a lower-priced “ChatGPT Go” plan last year priced under $5 and later offering it free for one year to drive uptake.
During his trip, Altman is expected to meet key tech executives, startup founders, and government officials as OpenAI aims to expand ChatGPT’s enterprise adoption while broadening its reach as a mass-market product. The company has been engaging with multiple sectors in India, including education and media.
OpenAI is also evaluating India as a potential base for infrastructure expansion. Last year, both Google and Microsoft announced multi-billion-dollar investments in India to expand their AI and cloud footprints. However, India’s data-center ambitions face constraints including uneven power availability, high energy costs, and water scarcity in several regions, which could slow AI infrastructure build-out and raise operating costs.
The Indian government hopes the upcoming summit will cement the country’s status as a destination for large-scale AI investment, with the potential to attract as much as $100 billion. The government is also encouraging domestic startups to build smaller AI models for local use cases, aiming to reduce reliance on U.S.-based systems.