Anthropic CEO explains why he didn’t hold hands with Altman:How a ‘disorganised’ India AI Summit remark sparked political debate in India

What began as an awkward moment on stage between two of the world’s most influential AI leaders has now snowballed into a political controversy in India. A video clip from the India AI Summit held earlier this year has resurfaced online, showing OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei appearing hesitant to hold hands during a group photograph.
The clip quickly went viral, sparking speculation about tensions between the two executives, who once worked together at OpenAI before taking different paths in the AI industry. The clip continued circulating for months before Amodei was recently asked about it during an interview with Bloomberg. Dario Amodei says it wasn’t personal When questioned about the viral video in a Bloomberg interview, Amodei dismissed suggestions that the moment reflected any personal issue with Altman. According to him, the situation was simply the result of confusion and last-minute changes during the event. Amodei explained that participants were suddenly rearranged on stage and then instructed to hold hands for the photograph with very little warning. What happened was that the summit was extremely disorganised. We all came up at the last minute, and they changed the order in which we were standing. And then they took a picture of us, and they ordered us all to hold hands. When asked why everyone else appeared to manage the photo opportunity while he and Altman did not, Amodei admitted he had no clear explanation. I don’t know what to tell you. However, he repeatedly stressed that he was not singling out India and argued that many international events involving world leaders tend to operate in a similarly chaotic manner. I’m not saying anything bad about India in particular, but all of these international summits that have heads of state are super disorganised.
The political controversy begins
While the interview attracted attention in technology circles, it soon took a political turn in India. A clip showing Amodei describing the summit as “extremely disorganised” began circulating widely on social media. The comments were highlighted by Amitabh Dubey, Congress’s research and monitoring in-charge, who shared the video online and drew attention to Amodei’s criticism of the event’s organisation. Soon after, BJP leaders accused Congress of presenting only part of the story. BJP accuses Congress of sharing remarks out of context BJP IT department head Amit Malviya argued that Congress selectively circulated the clip while ignoring Amodei’s clarification that he was not specifically criticising India.
Malviya said the opposition was attempting to create a negative impression about an event that had successfully brought together some of the world’s leading AI figures.
According to the BJP, Amodei’s broader comments made it clear that he believed similar organisational challenges occur at major international gatherings around the world. The party accused Congress of removing this context to manufacture controversy and undermine India’s image on the global technology stage.
Congress, meanwhile, continued to highlight the criticism, keeping the debate alive online. While the discussion continues, the episode also shows how a moment that lasted only a few seconds on stage ended up triggering conversations that stretched far beyond a single photograph.