AI Impact Summit 2026: OpenAI CEO Sam Altman says India will help define AI’s future

India is preparing to host the AI Impact Summit 2026 next week in New Delhi at Bharat Mandapam. Ahead of the event, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has highlighted India’s growing importance in the global AI race. Writing in The Times of India before his visit, Altman described India as a possible ‘full-stack AI leader.’ He said the country has quickly become OpenAI’s second-largest user base in the world, behind only the US. 

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Altman also shared his idea of ‘Democratic AI.’ He believes India has the right mix of talent, large-scale data, and ‘infectious optimism.’

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OpenAI opened its first office in Delhi last August. Altman said the company plans to expand its team and operations in India over the coming year. The expansion follows India reaching 100 million weekly active users on OpenAI platforms, driven primarily by a student population that has become ChatGPT’s largest user group globally.

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‘AI will help define India’s future, and India will help define AI’s future,’ Altman stated. ‘And it will do so in a way only a democracy can.’

To address what he calls a ‘capability overhang,’ where tools are available but people may lack the skills to use them fully, Altman suggested a three-part plan for India. First is Access, making sure that AI tools are available to everyone, no matter their income or education. Second is Adoption, bringing AI into everyday sectors such as schools, clinics, and small businesses. Third is Agency, helping people build AI skills so they can create solutions, not just consume them.

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Altman’s visit next week is expected to include talks with government leaders. These discussions may align with the IndiaAI Mission, a Rs 10,371 crore government initiative aimed at building local computing power and multilingual AI applications for healthcare and agriculture.

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Ayushi Jain

Ayushi works as Chief Copy Editor at Digit, covering everything from breaking tech news to in-depth smartphone reviews. Prior to Digit, she was part of the editorial team at IANS. View Full Profile