The timing of this visit coincides with New Delhi's preparations to host a significant AI summit, which is anticipated to attract senior leaders from Meta, Google, and Anthropic. Scheduled for February 16–20, 2026, the India AI Impact Summit represents the country's inaugural major AI gathering. According to the event's website, it will convene international tech figures such as Nvidia's Jensen Huang, Google's Sundar Pichai, and Anthropic's Dario Amodei, alongside prominent Indian business leaders like Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani. Notably, Altman is not currently shown as a confirmed participant.

OpenAI is separately organizing an event in New Delhi on February 19, to which venture capitalists and industry executives have been invited, according to an individual with knowledge of the plans. Altman's potential visit has not been officially announced and remains subject to change, sources indicated. Numerous other U.S. companies are also arranging ancillary events during the summit week. (The GPU manufacturer did not reply to a request for comment.) This convergence of activities highlights the concerted effort by global AI firms to connect with India's corporate clients, startup network, and developers.

If it proceeds, this trip would be Altman's first to India in almost a year, following his previous visit in February 2025. He had earlier expressed intentions to return later in 2025 after OpenAI announced a New Delhi office in August, but that planned trip did not materialize.

Altman's potential arrival occurs as India has become a crucial growth region for American AI companies. In recent months, Anthropic established an office in Bengaluru and appointed former Microsoft India managing director Irina Ghose to lead its local operations. Meanwhile, Google and Perplexity have formed partnerships with Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel, respectively, to offer premium AI subscriptions to millions of telecom users.

OpenAI has been strengthening its footprint in India over recent months, recruiting for roles in enterprise sales, technical deployment, and legal affairs focused on AI regulation. The company is currently advertising positions in New Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru. India stands as the largest market for ChatGPT by downloads and its second-largest by user base. However, OpenAI has encountered difficulties translating this demand into paid subscriptions, leading to the introduction last year of a lower-cost "ChatGPT Go" plan priced under $5, offered free for the first year to encourage adoption.

During his trip, Altman is expected to meet with key technology executives, startup founders, and government officials, sources said. This aligns with OpenAI's dual goals of expanding ChatGPT's enterprise use while continuing to grow its reach as a mass-market product. The company has been interacting with various Indian sectors, including education and media, according to those familiar with the matter. OpenAI is also evaluating India as a potential location for infrastructure expansion.

Last year, both Google and Microsoft announced investments worth billions of dollars in India to grow their AI and cloud capabilities. Nevertheless, India's data-center ambitions face hurdles such as inconsistent power supply, high energy costs, and water shortages in several areas—factors that may slow AI infrastructure development and increase operational expenses for cloud providers.

Despite these challenges, the Indian government is optimistic that the forthcoming summit will solidify the country's position as a hub for large-scale AI investment. The nation's IT minister recently stated in an interview that the event could help draw up to $100 billion in investment. Concurrently, the federal government is encouraging domestic startups to develop smaller AI models tailored for local applications, aiming to reduce long-term dependence on U.S.-based systems.

OpenAI, India's IT ministry, and the AI summit organizers did not respond to requests for comment.