India AI Impact Summit: From Sundar Pichai to Sam Altman, top tech leaders to attend the event in New Delhi
Hosted at Bharat Mandapam and other venues across the capital, the five-day event is expected to feature more than 40 CEOs, 20 heads of state and discussions linked to nearly $100 billion in prospective investments
- Feb 16, 2026,
- Updated Feb 16, 2026 7:29 AM IST
New Delhi opens its doors on February 16 to one of the largest technology gatherings ever hosted in the Global South. The India AI Impact Summit 2026 will bring together the world’s top artificial intelligence leaders, from Google’s Sundar Pichai to OpenAI’s Sam Altman, placing India at the centre of the global AI conversation.
Hosted at Bharat Mandapam and other venues across the capital, the five-day event is expected to feature more than 40 CEOs, 20 heads of state and discussions linked to nearly $100 billion in prospective investments. PM Narendra Modi will hold one-on-one interactions with 35–40 corporate leaders and deliver the main plenary address on February 19.
The summit is structured around three themes, People, Planet and Progress, combining policy sessions, industry meetings and public participation across multiple locations, including Sushma Swaraj Bhawan.
A concentration of global AI leadership
The attendee list underlines the scale of the event. Alongside Pichai and Altman, participants include Dario Amodei, Demis Hassabis, Bill Gates, Yann LeCun and Yoshua Bengio.
Industry representation spans telecom, software, semiconductors and consulting. Among those expected are Mukesh D Ambani, Natarajan Chandrasekaran, Salil Parekh, Nikesh Arora and Shantanu Narayen.
Political leaders are also participating, including Emmanuel Macron and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, along with dozens of ministers and the UN Secretary-General.
Why India is central to AI strategy
The summit reflects a broader shift in the technology landscape. India produces close to 20% of the world’s data, has the second-largest AI workforce globally and more than 700 million internet users, a combination that makes it both a development hub and a major market for AI adoption.
Major technology companies have already begun expanding their footprint. Microsoft has committed $17.5 billion to build AI infrastructure over four years. Anthropic has appointed former Microsoft India MD Irina Ghose to lead local operations. OpenAI has created a dedicated India sales team, while Google has partnered with the government and education platform Physics Wallah to expand AI learning. Semiconductor major Nvidia is also monitoring the market amid incentives such as a 21-year tax holiday for data centres.
A public-facing tech event
Beyond policy discussions, the summit includes a large-scale expo spanning 70,000 square metres and featuring more than 300 exhibitors from 30 countries. Over two lakh participants have registered, including farmers and grassroots workers, part of the effort to connect AI adoption with everyday economic activity.s
The event concludes on February 20 with the GPAI Council meeting, closing a week that positions India as not only a major user of artificial intelligence but an emerging venue where global AI policy and investment priorities are increasingly shaped.
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New Delhi opens its doors on February 16 to one of the largest technology gatherings ever hosted in the Global South. The India AI Impact Summit 2026 will bring together the world’s top artificial intelligence leaders, from Google’s Sundar Pichai to OpenAI’s Sam Altman, placing India at the centre of the global AI conversation.
Hosted at Bharat Mandapam and other venues across the capital, the five-day event is expected to feature more than 40 CEOs, 20 heads of state and discussions linked to nearly $100 billion in prospective investments. PM Narendra Modi will hold one-on-one interactions with 35–40 corporate leaders and deliver the main plenary address on February 19.
The summit is structured around three themes, People, Planet and Progress, combining policy sessions, industry meetings and public participation across multiple locations, including Sushma Swaraj Bhawan.
A concentration of global AI leadership
The attendee list underlines the scale of the event. Alongside Pichai and Altman, participants include Dario Amodei, Demis Hassabis, Bill Gates, Yann LeCun and Yoshua Bengio.
Industry representation spans telecom, software, semiconductors and consulting. Among those expected are Mukesh D Ambani, Natarajan Chandrasekaran, Salil Parekh, Nikesh Arora and Shantanu Narayen.
Political leaders are also participating, including Emmanuel Macron and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, along with dozens of ministers and the UN Secretary-General.
Why India is central to AI strategy
The summit reflects a broader shift in the technology landscape. India produces close to 20% of the world’s data, has the second-largest AI workforce globally and more than 700 million internet users, a combination that makes it both a development hub and a major market for AI adoption.
Major technology companies have already begun expanding their footprint. Microsoft has committed $17.5 billion to build AI infrastructure over four years. Anthropic has appointed former Microsoft India MD Irina Ghose to lead local operations. OpenAI has created a dedicated India sales team, while Google has partnered with the government and education platform Physics Wallah to expand AI learning. Semiconductor major Nvidia is also monitoring the market amid incentives such as a 21-year tax holiday for data centres.
A public-facing tech event
Beyond policy discussions, the summit includes a large-scale expo spanning 70,000 square metres and featuring more than 300 exhibitors from 30 countries. Over two lakh participants have registered, including farmers and grassroots workers, part of the effort to connect AI adoption with everyday economic activity.s
The event concludes on February 20 with the GPAI Council meeting, closing a week that positions India as not only a major user of artificial intelligence but an emerging venue where global AI policy and investment priorities are increasingly shaped.
For Unparalleled coverage of India's Businesses and Economy – Subscribe to Business Today Magazine