India AI Impact Summit 2026 | From Sam Altman to Sundar Pichai: Who's coming and why it matters

New Delhi is all set to host the India AI Impact Summit 2026 from February 16 to 20 at the Bharat Mandappam, the first global AI Summit to be held in the Global South.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be addressing the event on February 19. The event is expected to draw some of the biggest names, including Google CEO Sundar Pichai and OpenAI’s CEO Sam Altman.

The guest list also includes Nvidia Chief Jensen Huang, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, DeepMind’s Demis Hassabis, Bill Gates, Microsoft President Brad Smith, Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon, President and CEO, World Economic Forum Børge Brende, Amazon Legal Officer David Zapolsky and Dr. Sara Hooker, Co-Founder of Adaption Labs.

Apart from the global tech leaders, 15-20 heads of government, more than 50 international ministers, and over 40 CEOs from India and across the world will be attending the Summit. The India AI Impact Expo, spread across 70,000 square metres, is expected to host over 300 exhibitors from 30 countries across seven thematic pavilions.

The Summit is structured into three core pillars called ‘Sutras’: People, Planet, and Progress. These are further divided into seven thematic ‘Chakras’ or working groups, focusing on AI skilling, social inclusion, AI safety, scientific research, sustainable computing, democratising AI access, and economic growth.

Why does it matter?

India’s growing appeal to global AI companies works as a key backdrop to the Summit. At present, India generates nearly 20 per cent of the world’s data and boasts the second-largest AI workforce. The country has over 958 million internet users, according to a report by Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI). For companies investing heavily in AI development, India’s vast service economy presents both talent and market opportunities.

The results have already started to be visible as Anthropic appointed former Microsoft India MD Irina Ghose to head its India operations, while OpenAI has established a dedicated sales division in the country. Google has also partnered with the government and Physics Wallah to promote AI in education. Meanwhile, India’s 21-year tax holiday for data centres is drawing interest from hardware giants such as Nvidia.

More about the Summit

Ahead of the Summit, more than 700 session proposals have been submitted. The government will be releasing the AI Compendium, a collection of case studies highlighting AI applications across healthcare, agriculture, education, energy, and gender empowerment. It will conclude with the GPAI Council meeting on February 20.

The programme also features major competitions and youth initiatives, which include AI for ALL and AI by HER, with the latter dedicated to women-led innovation. Both will be awarded with prizes worth Rs 2.50 crore each. Then comes YUVAI, which targets innovators between 13 and 21 years, offering awards of up to Rs 85 lakh. Additionally, the India AI Tinkerpreneur bootcamp will engage students from Classes 6 to 12.