Anupam Mittal takes a swipe at Sam Altman as China’s DeepSeek challenges OpenAI: ‘Apna time bhi aayega’

The rise of DeepSeek, a Chinese AI startup, has stirred fresh debate over whether Altman underestimated competition beyond Silicon Valley, especially as the model gains traction globally and overtakes ChatGPT on the iOS App Store.

See the post:

‘It is completely hopeless to compete with us’ @sama words to India in 2023. While 🇮🇳 hasn’t done it yet, am glad somebody made him less smug. Apna time bhi aayega 💪🏼

— Anupam Mittal (@AnupamMittal) January 30, 2025

However Mittal’s post didn’t sit well with everyone. Some users pointed out that Altman’s words have been misinterpreted by people, while some users had their say on India’s AI stance.

One user wrote, “The complete quote is – ‘It is completely hopeless to compete with us, but it is your job to do it anyway.’ @sama The disingenuousness of this argument is absurd.”

Another user wrote, “At this point Indians (including me) are just satisfying their ego by celebrating the rise of a CHINESE company which lied about their capex and GPU installations. Disruptions exist everywhere, but you gotta respect @sama for the genAI revolution.”

A third individual commented, “India won’t be able to compete unless we have good research and development labs and teams. Nor do I see much of investments in that area. Until that it aint gonna happen!”

Sam Altman addressed the misunderstanding in 2023, explaining that his words were taken out of context. He clarified that the actual discussion was about whether a company could take on an AI giant with just 10 million dollars in coffers.

this is really taken out of context! the question was about competing with us with $10 million, which i really do think is not going to work. but i still said try! however, i think it’s the wrong question.

— Sam Altman (@sama) June 10, 2023

With DeepSeek’s rapid expansion beyond China, India is stepping up its game in the AI space. Acknowledging the global boom in artificial intelligence, the Indian government is now focused on creating its own large language model (LLM)—one designed specifically for India’s diverse languages, culture, and unique needs. IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw recently shared the country’s vision for a homegrown AI system that avoids the biases found in many foreign models, ensuring a more inclusive and locally relevant approach.