From a tense corporate split to a viral photo: A timeline of Anthropic and OpenAI's budding rivalry

February 2025 marked a turning point in the escalating rivalry between AI giants OpenAI and Anthropic, highlighted by a viral moment during a summit led by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. As leaders came together for a show of unity, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei notably refrained from joining hands, capturing the essence of their growing feud. The roots of this rivalry can be traced back to July 2015 when a gathering of elite AI researchers, including Altman and Amodei, took place at the Rosewood Hotel in Menlo Park, California. This meeting, which also included Tesla's Elon Musk, aimed to discuss the formation of a new AI lab to challenge Google's dominance in the field. Although Amodei initially chose not to join OpenAI, he later became a key figure within the organization, quickly ascending to the role of research director by September 2018. Under Altman's leadership, OpenAI began to make significant advancements, including the release of the groundbreaking GPT-3 model in June 2020. However, behind the scenes, tensions were brewing. Disagreements over AI safety protocols and the pace of technological advancements led to Amodei's departure from OpenAI in December 2020, as he felt that his vision was no longer aligned with the company's direction. In early 2021, Amodei co-founded Anthropic, along with several former OpenAI colleagues, including his sister Daniela. The new company focused on human-centric AI development, and by mid-2022, Anthropic had completed the training of its chatbot, Claude, although they hesitated to release it due to concerns regarding the implications of powerful AI technologies. As OpenAI released ChatGPT, marking its rise in the AI race, Anthropic began to carve out its own identity. Amodei's public statements increasingly reflected subtle criticisms of OpenAI, with remarks about maintaining a stable leadership structure while OpenAI faced upheaval. The rivalry intensified with Anthropic's advertising campaign ahead of the Super Bowl, which seemingly targeted OpenAI's approach to monetizing AI chatbots. The culmination of these tensions was evident during a recent summit, where once again, the two leaders found themselves at the center of attention. While Modi attempted to create a moment of unity, the body language between Altman and Amodei spoke volumes, as the two refrained from physical camaraderie. This visual representation has become an emblematic snapshot of the fierce competition characterizing the current AI landscape.