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Microsoft-backed OpenAI's chief Sam Altman is planning to visit India next week, three sources with direct knowledge of the matter said, in what could be his first visit in two years at a time when the company faces legal challenges in the country.

The sources said Altman has scheduled his trip to New Delhi for Feb. 5. One of the sources said a meeting with government officials was also on the cards.

But the schedule is not finalised and his plans could still change, the people said.

OpenAI, India's IT ministry and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's office did not respond to requests for comment.

OpenAI has said India is its second-largest market by number of users, after the United States.

Altman visited India in 2023 when he met Modi in New Delhi and discussed the potential of AI in boosting India's tech ecosystem.

Since then, OpenAI has faced several legal challenges in India. A lawsuit against it claiming breaches of copyright began last year after local news agency ANI challenged it in a New Delhi court.

Book publishers and almost a dozen digital media outlets, including those owned by billionaires Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani, have also since joined the case.

OpenAI has said it only uses publicly available data in a manner protected by fair use principles, and has said Indian courts have no jurisdiction to hear the matter.

Separately, a global tech market rout was triggered this week after the emergence of Chinese AI rival DeepSeek. DeepSeek's AI Assistant has overtaken ChatGPT to become the top-rated free app on Apple's App Store in the United States.