🌍 India AI Impact Summit 2026: World Descends on Delhi as Modi Opens Historic Global South AI Summit

🌍 India AI Impact Summit 2026: World Descends on Delhi as Modi Opens Historic Global South AI Summit 

 

NEW DELHI: In what is being hailed as a watershed moment for the Global South, the India AI Impact Summit 2026 officially kicked off today at New Delhi’s iconic Bharat Mandapam. This is the first-ever global AI summit hosted by a developing nation, signaling India’s ambitious rise as a rule-setter in the artificial intelligence revolution rather than just a follower .

Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomed the global delegations with a powerful message on X (formerly Twitter), calling it a “matter of immense pride” that the world is coming to India. “This also shows the capability of our country’s youth. This occasion is further proof that our country is progressing rapidly in the field of science and technology and is making an important contribution to global development,” PM Modi stated ahead of the inauguration .

🚀 By The Numbers: A Summit of Unprecedented Scale

The five-day extravaganza (February 16-20) is shattering records:

Metric Figure
Participating Nations 100+ countries invited
Registered Delegates 2.5 lakh (250,000+)
Global Leaders (Heads of State) 20+
Ministerial Delegations 45+ countries
Tech CEOs & Industry Leaders 50+
Exhibition Pavilions 300+
Sessions & Panels 500+ with 3,250+ speakers
Country Pavilions 13 nations
Startups Showcasing 600+

Sources:

👑 Who’s Who: Global Leaders Touching Down in Delhi

The summit has transformed Delhi into a hub of diplomatic and technological power. Here’s the full list of heads of state and government scheduled to attend:

🇪🇺 Europe’s Finest

· France: President Emmanuel Macron (co-headlining Thursday’s plenary with PM Modi)
· Spain: President Pedro Sánchez Pérez-Castejón
· Switzerland: President Guy Parmelin
· Netherlands: Prime Minister Dick Schoof
· Finland: Prime Minister Petteri Orpo
· Estonia: President Alar Karis
· Greece, Croatia, Serbia, Slovakia: Top leadership confirmed

🌏 Asia & Middle East Powerhouses

· UAE: Crown Prince Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan
· Sri Lanka: President Anura Kumara Dissanayake
· Mauritius: Prime Minister Dr. Navinchandra Ramgoolam
· Bhutan: Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay
· Kazakhstan, Tajikistan: Senior delegations

🌎 Americas & Global South

· Brazil: President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
· Bolivia, Guyana: Head of state participation

🏛️ International Organizations

· United Nations: Secretary-General António Guterres
· Multiple UN agencies and international bodies’ senior officials

Also Read: [Full schedule of world leader addresses at AI Summit 2026]

💼 Tech Titans: Who’s Who from Silicon Valley to Bengaluru

This isn’t just a diplomatic gathering—it’s the most powerful congregation of tech leadership outside Davos. Confirmed attendees include:

The CEOs

· Sam Altman – OpenAI (announced India has 100M+ weekly active ChatGPT users, second only to US)
· Sundar Pichai – Alphabet/Google
· Dario Amodei – Anthropic (announcing Bengaluru office opening)
· Shantanu Narayen – Adobe
· Cristiano Amon – Qualcomm
· Brad Smith – Microsoft
· Mukesh Ambani – Reliance Industries
· Vinod Khosla – Khosla Ventures

The Visionaries

· Bill Gates – Gates Foundation (arrived via Andhra Pradesh, briefly circled due to fog before landing)
· Demis Hassabis – Google DeepMind
· Alexandr Wang – Scale AI / Meta Chief AI Officer
· Senior executives from Nvidia, IBM, Zoom, Kyndryl, Cloudflare, AMD, HCL, TCS

🎯 What’s at Stake? India’s Grand AI Vision

Three Pillars: “People, Planet, Progress”

The summit is structured around three fundamental “Sutras” (principles) that India is proposing as a global framework for AI governance :

1. People (लोग): AI must serve humanity in all its diversity, preserving dignity and ensuring inclusivity
2. Planet (ग्रह): AI innovation must align with environmental stewardship and sustainability
3. Progress (प्रगति): AI’s benefits must be equitably shared, advancing global development

The 7 Tracks (Thematic Chakras)

Discussions are organized into seven interconnected tracks :

· Human Capital (AI talent development)
· Social Empowerment & Inclusion
· Safe & Trustworthy AI (Ethical AI)
· Science, Resilience & Innovation
· Efficiency
· Democratization of AI Resources
· Economic Growth & Social Welfare

India’s Major Announcements

On Day 1, India unveiled:

✅ 12 Indigenous Foundation Models – Developed by Indian startups and research consortia, trained on domestic datasets, supporting 22 official languages. This aims to reduce dependency on foreign AI systems .

✅ ₹10,372 Crore ($1.2B) IndiaAI Mission – Government funding for AI ecosystem including 38,000+ GPUs added for shared computing access .

✅ Neysa Acquisition – Blackstone acquired majority stake in Indian AI startup Neysa as part of $600M equity fundraise .

✅ C2i Funding – Bengaluru-based data center power solution raised $15M from Peak XV Partners .

✅ AMD-TCS Partnership – Developing rack-scale AI infrastructure based on AMD’s “Helios” platform .

🏛️ The Venue: Bharat Mandapam Transformed

The sprawling complex that hosted the G20 Summit in 2023 has been converted into an AI wonderland. The India AI Impact Expo 2026 spans 70,000+ square meters across 10 arenas .

Highlights:

· 13 Country Pavilions: Australia, Japan, Russia, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Switzerland, Serbia, Estonia, Tajikistan, and African nations
· Live Demonstrations: AI in agriculture, healthcare, education, and public services
· Startup Showcase: 600+ high-potential startups demonstrating population-scale solutions

🗣️ Voices from the Summit

PM Narendra Modi

“It is a matter of immense pride for us that people from all over the world are coming to India for the India AI Impact Summit. Together, we will shape solutions not just for India but for the world” .

Gabriela Ramos (Former UNESCO Assistant Director-General)

“I feel that the AI Impact Summit is putting the emphasis on the impact. We have been focusing too much on the technologies. This time we’re looking at the impacts—if we apply these technologies for school, are the students learning? If we apply it for health, are the patients recovering better?”

Cynthia McCaffrey (UNICEF India Representative)

“AI should be safe by default, shouldn’t be an afterthought. It’s important to identify those guardrails and regulations that governments can put in place” .

Vinod Khosla (Khosla Ventures)

Predicted that IT services and BPO industries could “almost completely disappear” within five years due to AI, adding that 250 million young Indians should be selling AI-based products to the world .

Official Response

MeitY Secretary S. Krishnan addressed the situation: “We never anticipated that there would be so many people willing to attend, which is why we did not restrict registrations. On all days except the 19th, everyone is welcome” .

🌐 Why This Summit Matters Globally

India as the “Bridge”

The summit positions India as the critical link between developed economies and the Global South in shaping AI’s future .

The Declaration

Participating leaders are expected to sign a declaration outlining a “shared roadmap for global AI governance and collaboration” .

From Bletchley to Delhi

This is the fourth major global AI gathering, following:

· 2023: Bletchley Park, UK (AI Safety Summit)
· 2024: Seoul, South Korea
· 2025: Paris, France (AI Action Summit)
· 2026: New Delhi, India (AI Impact Summit)

📅 What to Watch This Week

Day Highlight
Feb 16-18 Thematic tracks, expo open, technical sessions
Feb 19 Heads of State Day – 20+ global leaders in attendance
Feb 20 PM Modi & President Macron joint address, CEO roundtable, closing declaration

📢 Why This Story is Breaking the Internet

When the world’s most powerful leaders, biggest tech CEOs, and brightest AI researchers all land in one city—and that city is Delhi—it’s not just news. It’s history.

For the first time, a developing nation is not just consuming AI but helping write its rules, shape its governance, and democratize its access. Whether it’s Macron sitting down with Modi, Altman announcing India as ChatGPT’s second-largest market, or Indian startups unveiling foundation models in 22 languages—this summit is redefining the global tech order.

Stay tuned for live updates, exclusive interviews, and behind-the-scenes coverage from the India AI Impact Summit 2026.