A light-hearted yet widely noticed awkward moment unfolded during the group photograph at the India AI Impact Summit in New Delhi today, as OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei chose raised fists instead of holding hands.
The two executives, representing fiercely competing AI companies, appeared briefly unsure before settling on the fist-bump gesture, drawing amused reactions online.
#BREAKING | AI Cold War On Stage: OpenAI, Anthropic CEOs’ Awkward Moment At #AIIndiaSummit2026
NDTV’s @VishnuNDTV and @aishvaryjain Report#AISummit pic.twitter.com/V31XTusxC2
— NDTV (@ndtv) February 19, 2026
Prime Minister Narendra Modi stood at the centre of the high-profile lineup, which included Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, Scale AI founder Alexandr Wang, Meta’s Chief AI Officer, and other global tech leaders.
The internet was quick to react to the snub.
When AGI?
The day Dario and Sam hold hands. pic.twitter.com/bfmqgnTV89— Siddharth Bhatia (@siddharthb_) February 19, 2026
“When AGI? The day Dario and Sam hold hands,” wrote Siddharth Bhatia, co-founder of Puch AI.
The five-day AI Impact Summit, from February 16 to 20 at Bharat Mandapam, has drawn more than 500 global AI leaders, 150 academics and researchers, and 400 chief technology officers, vice-presidents, and philanthropists.