Five-Day Global Event at Bharat Mandapam to Shape Responsible AI Future Under ‘People, Planet, Progress’ Pillars; Expected Attendance of Over 35,000 Delegates, Including Tech Titans Like Sam Altman, Sundar Pichai, and Mukesh Ambani
Published on: February 15, 2026
By: BTNI
Location: New Delhi, India
India is all set to host one of the most significant global gatherings on artificial intelligence as the India AI Impact Summit 2026 kicks off tomorrow, February 16, and runs through February 20 at Bharat Mandapam and other venues in the national capital. This landmark event, the first major international AI summit hosted in the Global South, is organized under the IndiaAI Mission by the Government of India, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi leading the initiative to position the country as a key player in shaping inclusive, responsible, and impactful AI governance worldwide.
The summit, spanning five days, is built around three core guiding principles—People, Planet, and Progress—aiming to foster discussions on AI’s role in driving economic growth, sustainable development, ethical frameworks, and equitable access to technology. It brings together an unprecedented lineup of world leaders, policymakers, industry giants, innovators, startups, and civil society representatives. Official estimates suggest participation from over 35,000 registered delegates, with projections from various sources indicating crowds could reach up to 2 lakh when including broader public engagements, exhibitions, and side events.A standout feature is the high-level diplomatic presence: leaders from at least 20 nations are confirmed to attend.
This includes 7 Presidents (such as France’s Emmanuel Macron, Brazil’s Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Spain’s Pedro Sánchez Pérez-Castejón, Estonia’s Alar Karis, Serbia’s Aleksandar Vučić, Switzerland’s Guy Parmelin, and Sri Lanka’s Anura Kumara Dissanayake), 2 Vice Presidents (Bolivia’s Edmand Lara Montano and Guyana’s Bharrat Jagdeo), and 9 Prime Ministers (including Bhutan’s Tshering Tobgay, Croatia’s Andrej Plenković, Finland’s Petteri Orpo, Greece’s Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Kazakhstan’s Olzhas Bektenov, Mauritius’s Navinchandra Ramgoolam, the Netherlands’ Dick Schoof, and others).
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Additional dignitaries like Liechtenstein’s Hereditary Prince Alois and representatives from Seychelles and Slovakia further underscore the summit’s global stature.Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to formally inaugurate the summit and convene a high-profile roundtable with 35-40 leading CEOs, emphasizing India’s push for democratizing AI and achieving technological sovereignty. The event also features addresses in the main plenary sessions, with Modi scheduled to speak on February 19.On the tech front, the summit boasts an impressive array of global CEOs and visionaries from the AI ecosystem.
Confirmed participants include OpenAI’s Sam Altman, Google’s Sundar Pichai, Nvidia’s Jensen Huang, Anthropic’s Dario Amodei, Microsoft’s Brad Smith, Qualcomm’s Cristiano Amon, Reliance Industries’ Mukesh Ambani, Tata Sons’ Natarajan Chandrasekaran, Biocon’s Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Bill Gates (Gates Foundation), and many more from companies like Meta, Mistral AI, Ericsson, Salesforce, IBM, and Adobe.
Over 40 top Indian and international CEOs are expected, with discussions anticipated to unlock significant investment commitments—potentially up to $100 billion—in AI infrastructure, innovation, and applications.The summit includes the India AI Impact Expo, showcasing 300+ exhibitors from India and 30+ countries across thematic pavilions, highlighting solutions in sectors like healthcare, education, agriculture, climate action, and more. Flagship Global AI Impact Challenges—AI for ALL, AI by HER, and YUVAi—have announced their top 70 finalist teams from over 4,650 applications across 60+ countries, who will present innovative solutions for social good.
This mega event marks a historic milestone for India, demonstrating its growing influence in global AI diplomacy and innovation. As delegations from over 45 countries, including more than 50 ministers, arrive in New Delhi, the summit is poised to set new benchmarks for collaborative AI governance, ethical deployment, and inclusive progress. With security arrangements in place and a command center operational, the capital is ready to welcome this transformative convergence of minds shaping the AI era.
