India will host the AI Impact Summit 2026 in New Delhi from February 16 to February 20, bringing together global technology executives, researchers, policymakers, investors and leaders from across the globe. The summit is centred around three principles or ‘Sutras’: people, planet, progress. So, the emphasis is on building AI systems that are inclusive, socially responsible and environmentally sustainable. And we are expecting sessions on real-world AI applications in different facets of life and the economy to drive growth, efficiency and measurable social impact.
Below are some of the eminent personalities who are set to attend the event:
Bill Gates (Microsoft co-founder) now chairs the Gates Foundation, a global health and development non-profit organisation. At the summit, we expect him to spotlight AI for social good, reflecting India’s leadership in deploying AI for real-world impact. Gates has invested heavily in AI-driven healthcare: he announced a $50 million partnership with OpenAI called the Horizon1000 project to use AI for strengthening health systems in Africa. The Foundation pursues responsible AI to improve diagnostics, patient care and global health, emphasising that AI should ‘save and improve millions of lives’ and boost inclusive growth. In India, Gates notes, innovators are already using AI in public health, agriculture and education, and he will outline the Foundation’s AI partnerships and commitments at the summit.
Cristiano Amon leads Qualcomm, a semiconductor giant best known for Snapdragon chips in mobile and IoT devices. Qualcomm is a leader in edge AI hardware: its latest Snapdragon and Qualcomm Dragonwing platforms enable on-device AI inference for robotics, healthcare imaging and smart-city applications. The company runs global AI initiatives like the Qualcomm AI Program for Innovators and recently acquired Arduino to open-source its AI computing platform. Amon’s presence at the summit signals Qualcomm’s push to bring AI into smartphones, PCs and industrial IoT. He has emphasised partnerships for AI in India: Qualcomm is exploring deeper collaboration under India’s AI mission, and Amon met Prime Minister Modi last October to discuss integrating AI across sectors. We can expect Amon to discuss on-device AI and how Qualcomm’s energy-efficient chips and developer programs can scale AI solutions, including in India’s tech ecosystem.
Dario Amodei, co-founder of OpenAI and now CEO of Anthropic, heads a leading AI research startup focused on safety and large language models. Anthropic’s flagship AI assistant, Claude got recently updated to version 4.6. Opus 4.6 introduced a 1-million-token context window and improved reasoning/coding skills. It takes on OpenAI’s latest GPT-5.2 on benchmarks like coding and finance. Amodei will likely address both frontier AI capabilities and alignment: Anthropic is known for its ‘Constitutional AI’ research on making models safe and reliable. In the Indian context, Anthropic is investing locally – it opened an office in Bengaluru and engaged with Indian leadership (Amodei met PM Modi) to explore AI in education, healthcare and agriculture. At the summit, Amodei is expected to showcase Anthropic’s latest model advances and its global efforts in ethical AI.
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Jensen Huang has transformed Nvidia from a graphics chip maker into the world’s leading AI-computing company. Nvidia’s GPUs and systems power most modern AI training and deployment. In 2025, the company rolled out Grace Blackwell servers (NVL72) and new DGX supercomputers (e.g. DGX Spark personal AI servers) that can run trillion-parameter models from a wall socket. Huang described global data centres as ‘AI factories’ producing valuable ‘tokens’. Nvidia’s Cuda-X software platform underpins countless AI applications, and Huang highlighted partnerships to build massive AI installations (with Oracle, Microsoft, CoreWeave, etc.) using Nvidia hardware. Nvidia is also pushing into robotics (with Isaac and Newton physics simulator) and digital twins (Omniverse) for industrial AI. In India, Nvidia has labs and channel partners; many Indian AI startups and researchers rely on its GPUs. Huang could discuss scaling AI compute globally. He will likely highlight Nvidia’s leadership in delivering high-performance, energy-efficient AI infrastructure.
Dr Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw is the biotech pioneer behind Biocon (India’s largest biopharma firm). Under her leadership, Biocon is using advanced technology in drug discovery and manufacturing. Biocon’s portfolio includes insulin and cancer biologics that leverage data-driven R&D. She has championed AI-driven drug discovery as a way to innovate in biotech. Mazumdar-Shaw will bring a life sciences perspective to the summit. Let us expect her to discuss how AI can accelerate new therapies and diagnostics, and also talk about homegrown tech innovations. Biocon’s innovations benefit from India’s strong digital infrastructure (e.g. national data for genomics), and Mazumdar-Shaw is likely to emphasise leveraging AI and biotech for public health.
Mukesh Ambani heads Reliance, India’s conglomerate with major telecom (Jio) and digital businesses. Reliance is aggressively building an AI-native ecosystem. In 2025, Reliance announced multiple AI products at its AGM: an AI-powered voice assistant ‘Riya’ for Jio’s streaming platform, and devices like JioPC (which turns any screen into a cloud PC) and JioFrames smart glasses. Ambani said RIL is embedding AI across telecom, retail and media, aiming for ‘AI Everywhere for Everyone’ and to make India ‘the first AI-native digital economy’. Globally, Reliance is partnering with tech giants to expand AI access: for example, Google gave its Gemini AI Pro plan free to 500 million Jio subscribers, and Reliance helped bundle it. Ambani’s presence implies announcements on how Jio’s 5G/AI infrastructure and digital apps (fintech, health) will advance with AI. He could speak about AI-driven growth for India’s consumers and industry, showcasing Jio’s AI initiatives and how Reliance aims to scale AI at the mass market level.
Nandan Nilekani co-founded Infosys and led India’s Aadhaar digital identity program. He is now Infosys’ Chairman and a prominent voice on technology and public welfare. Infosys itself has been integrating AI into enterprise services like Nia AR and VR platform and recent GenAI tools, and Nilekani is also active in shaping India’s AI ecosystem. He has funded AI4Bharat (an IIT-Madras-led open AI initiative) with a second grant, bringing total support to Rs 70 crores, helping build AI models for India’s 22 official languages. Nilekani believes India can be the ‘use-case capital of AI,’ with AI amplifying human potential in governance and social sectors. At the summit, he is expected to advocate for inclusive AI policy, like using AI in digital public infrastructure, such as finance, health and education. Infosys will likely showcase how its AI platforms are helping enterprises become more efficient, reflecting Nilekani’s vision that AI should be ‘inclusive, not extractive’.
N. Chandrasekaran heads the Tata Group (and chairs Tata Consultancy Services or TCS). He has called generative AI a ‘civilisational shift’ and is steering TCS to lead in an AI-first world. In TCS’s 2025 annual report, he outlined a plan to build a ‘large pool of AI agents’ working alongside employees (a Human+AI model), and to invest in AI data centres and cloud infrastructure. Furthermore, TCS has launched its GenAI enterprise platform ‘TCS WisdomNext’ and is hiring thousands of AI-skilled workers. At the summit, Chandrasekaran will likely emphasise the role of AI in enterprise and industry. In India, TCS and other Tata companies are using AI in manufacturing, analytics and services. He may discuss how the Indian industry should upskill for AI and aim for responsible AI adoption.
Sam Altman leads OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT and GPT models. These models and the company’s massive user base have driven mainstream adoption of generative AI. For example, India has become OpenAI’s largest user market: by late 2025, ChatGPT had about 72 million daily users in India, reflecting the app’s popularity in the country. Altman will be attending the summit and holding OpenAI events in New Delhi, where it recently opened an office. At the summit, Altman is expected to share OpenAI’s vision for next-generation AI and discuss how OpenAI’s technology can power Indian enterprises and developers. OpenAI’s latest models and applications in healthcare, education, and automation will likely be topics of focus.
Sundar Pichai heads Google and parent Alphabet, which is a major AI innovator. Google’s AI advances include the Gemini language models and DeepMind research. In October 2025, Pichai announced Google’s largest-ever investment in India: a $15 billion plan (2026–2030) to build a ‘state-of-the-art’ AI hub and data centre in Visakhapatnam (Vizag). This facility (built with partner Bharti Airtel) will provide gigawatt-scale compute and cloud infrastructure for IndiaAI initiatives. Pichai emphasised that the new AI hub will ‘bring our industry-leading technology to enterprises and users in India, accelerating AI innovation’. Google is also partnering on consumer AI: it has offered its Gemini AI Pro subscription free for 500 million Jio users in India, dramatically expanding access. At the summit, Pichai will likely highlight Google’s AI products (e.g. Gemini’s multi-modal capabilities) and its contributions to India: from AI research labs (Google AI India) to education initiatives. His presence underlines Google’s commitment to cloud AI and public sector use cases in India.
Sunil Mittal is a veteran telecom entrepreneur (Bharti Airtel’s founder). He has long advocated that telecom-led digital infrastructure is critical for inclusive AI. Under Mittal, Airtel is transforming its network and services with AI: for example, an automated location service called ‘Airtel-Skylark’ using AI/ML was launched to deliver centimetre-level accuracy. Airtel also partnered with Google to build India’s first mega AI hub in Visakhapatnam (a $15B data centre and subsea network), boosting IndiaAI resources. At the summit, Mittal will likely speak on AI’s impact in emerging markets, highlighting how AI and connectivity can expand digital services, while calling for safeguards against abuse. Airtel’s track record (from AI-driven fraud detection to new AI-enabled offerings) suggests it will stress both opportunity and responsibility in deploying AI for billions of telecom users.
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