The India AI Impact Summit, which is set to take place in the nation’s capital from February 15–20, 2026, will be opened by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Event Highlights and Attendance
Numerous heads of state and CEOs from companies like Google Deepmind, Anthropic, Adobe, Salesforce, Qualcomm, and FedEx will be present at the massive event.
The event’s host nation, India, anticipates that it will foster agreement on important AI-related topics, with a focus on the inclusion agenda and the democratization of resources.
Who is Coming?
China has received an official invitation from India to take part. In an effort to demonstrate its fundamental AI models and provide a policy direction that other countries may support, New Delhi has officially invited China to attend its annual artificial intelligence summit for the first time.
IT Secretary S Krishnan recently informed reporters, “We have confirmations from Bill Gates, Demis Hassabis (CEO of Google DeepMind), Dario Amodei (CEO of Anthropic), Shantanu Narayen (CEO of Adobe), Marc Benioff (CEO of Salesforce), Cristiano Amon (CEO of Qualcomm), and Raj Subramaniam (CEO of FedEx).”
Other Key Attendees
French President Emmanuel Macron, Brazilian President Lula da Silva, and prominent figures from the sector including Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, and Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan are among the well-known figures anticipated to attend, according to sources.
According to Krishnan, some fifty worldwide CEOs and founders have already confirmed their attendance at the next event. He expressed optimism that the number of confirmations will rise significantly after the holidays. Over 100 nations are anticipated to attend the summit in total. There should be at least 100 CEOs there, as more are confirming their participation.
Heads of State and Government Participation
“At the head of state, head of government, or ministerial level, several international leaders from nations all over the globe have also confirmed attendance. Those numbers are also quite significant. We anticipate more than 50 nations at the ministerial level and 15–20 countries at the head of state and head of government levels,” Krishnan said.
Summit Goals
The overall goals of the India AI Impact Summit 2026 are to facilitate the global democratization of AI and bridge the AI divide, encourage the creation of local and indigenous AI solutions, facilitate the development of “AI for Good solutions” in the fields of healthcare, agriculture, and governance, and—above all—align international norms and models of AI innovation and governance with the demands of the developing world.
The India AI Impact Summit 2026 draws on the success of other international efforts, including as the summits in Bletchley Park, Seoul, Paris, and Kigali.
Global South Participation
India anticipates that many nations from the global south, including those from Latin America and Africa, will participate in the global conversation this time.
According to Krishnan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch the mega-expo, hold a dinner party (probably on February 18), and attend the opening ceremony, leaders’ plenary, and CEO roundtable on February 19.
Pax Silica Talks
Krishnan said, “As far as Pax Silica is concerned, it is a continuous process of conversation between India and the US… it takes place in different levels… takes place in MEA… at the NSA level,” about India’s negotiations with the US to join the Pax Silica silicon supply chain block.
Delhi Preparations
According to authorities on Thursday, Delhi’s Public Works Department (PWD) has planned a comprehensive renovation of the regions around Bharat Mandapam, IGI airport, and other tourist destinations across the city.
The PWD and other municipal organizations have been directed by the Delhi government to make sure that the international event’s preparations go beyond the guidelines established at the G-20 Summit.
Infrastructure and Safety Measures
“The Delhi chief secretary has instructed that all the preparations, including security, traffic, movement of dignitaries, cleanliness, road conditions, signs, lighting and a refurbishment plan has been created and preparations have been made at significant tourist destinations and marketplaces that are anticipated to be visited.”
“A number of heads of state, foreign delegations, the leadership of well-known international organizations, and AI leaders—including CEOs of leading AI companies—as well as their families are anticipated to visit Delhi during the summit. According to the proposal, “the preparations for the summit should be of a quality better than those established for the G-20 meeting.”
Roads and Tourism Preparation
Up order to increase safety and infrastructure quality, the action plan places a high priority on maintaining PWD roads and walkways by filling up potholes, restoring broken grilles, replacing missing signs, enhancing and repairing center verges, and removing dark areas.
The regions around Bharat Mandapam, where pre-event events and bilateral meetings will take place around Hyderabad House, Vigyan Bhawan, Ambedkar Bhawan, Sushma Swaraj Bhawan, the five major five-star hotels, and Rajghat, have been assigned to PWD, the primary road-owning organization in the nation’s capital.
Roads that lead to popular tourist destinations including Delhi Haat, Central Park, Qutub Minar, Lal Quila, Humayun Tomb, Connaught Place, and Mehrauli Archaeological Park will also be renovated.
We anticipate that 15–20 nations will have heads of state and government. A control center with a nodal person to manage the summit preparations has also been established at the PWD headquarters to facilitate coordination with other departments.
