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.

Neither OpenAI, India’s IT ministry, nor Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s office have commented on the visit yet.

India is a critical market for OpenAI, ranking as the company’s second-largest user base after the United States.