Emmanuel Macron, Sam Altman, Sundar Pichai: Key world leaders, tech pioneers to attend India AI Impact Summit in Delhi from today

Five-day event being held at Bharat Mandapam; India AI Impact Expo to be held on the sidelines of the summit

The India AI Impact Summit 2026, a high-profile congregation of global leaders and industry heavyweights in artificial intelligence, is being held at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi from February 16 to 20.

It comes at a pivotal moment as countries across the world race to define their AI strategies.

Policymakers, technology pioneers and industry leaders will converge in the national capital to debate governance, innovation, and the future trajectory of AI. According to IT Secretary S Krishnan, the key message India wants to send to the world is that AI must remain human-centric and inclusive, with democratic access to Al resources, and with the potential to drive growth across all parts of the world.

Prominent world leaders scheduled to attend the summit include President of France Emmanuel Macron, President of Brazil Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Prime Minister of Spain Pedro Sanchez Perez-Castejon, crown prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of Sri Lanka Anura Kumara Dissanayake, Prime Minister of Mauritius Navinchandra Ramgoolam, President of Switzerland Guy Parmelin and Prime Minister of the Netherlands Dick Schoof.

Over 40 chief executive officers (CEOs) of leading global and Indian companies are set to be in attendance. Some of them are: Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI; Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and Alphabet; Bill Gates, Chair, Gates Foundation, and co-founder of Microsoft; Mukesh Ambani, chairman and MD of Reliance Industries Ltd; Sridhar Vembu, co-founder and chief scientist, Zoho Corporation; N Chandrasekaran, chairman of Tata Sons, and Salil Parekh, CEO and managing director of Infosys.

The summit has seen more than 35,000 registrations so far, with around 500 start-ups to engage across 500 sessions, according to the Ministry of Electronics and IT.

India AI Impact Expo 2026

The India AI Impact Expo 2026 will be held on the sidelines of the summit, where organisations will display their latest AI solutions. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the expo on Monday evening.

Dominant AI ecosystem players Nvidia, Google and OpenAI are among 400 exhibitors who will participate at the five-day-long India AI Impact Expo 2026.

The expo will serve as a matchmaking for AI ecosystem players, where Indian innovators will also showcase their potential, according to Software Technology Parks of India Director-General Arvind Kumar.

"Leading AI ecosystem players, including NVIDIA, Google, and OpenAI, will be among 400 exhibitors at the India AI Impact Expo. Their top executives have also confirmed their participation. They will also hold meetings with Indian companies," he said, according to a PTI report.

'Harnessing AI for human-centric progress'

As India hosts the AI Impact Summit, Modi on Monday said the country stands at the forefront of AI transformation.

In a post in X, he said, "The AI Impact Summit will enrich global discourse on diverse aspects of AI, such as innovation, collaboration, responsible use and more."

"The theme of the Summit is Sarvajana Hitaya, Sarvajana Sukhaya or welfare for all, happiness for all, reflecting our shared commitment to harnessing Artificial Intelligence for human-centric progress," he wrote in the post.

(With PTI inputs)