Tech leaders and global policymakers gathered in New Delhi on February 19, 2026 for the India AI Impact Summit, one of the largest international forums on artificial intelligence (AI), even as Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates withdrew from his scheduled keynote just hours before he was set to speak. Gates’s cancellation was officially attributed to a decision to “ensure the focus remains on the AI Summit’s key priorities,” with a representative from the Gates Foundation taking his place instead, reaffirming the foundation’s commitment to its work in India.
The summit — which follows previous international AI gatherings — drew some of the world’s top tech executives and policymakers, including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, and other industry leaders who addressed both the opportunities and risks posed by rapidly advancing AI technologies. Speakers discussed how AI could transform economies, spur innovation, and support digital infrastructure, with a focus on global cooperation and ethical deployment of AI systems.
Despite the high-level participation, Gates’s absence added to a string of challenges for the event, which has seen controversy over organizational hiccups and external scrutiny. Reports in multiple outlets have linked Gates’s withdrawal, broadly framed by his foundation as a strategic choice, with renewed public focus on his past interactions with the late financier Jeffrey Epstein, though his foundation emphasized that his decision was made to keep attention on the summit agenda.
The event also highlighted broader tensions in the AI landscape: demand for AI innovation continues to surge while concerns over societal impacts and governance grow. Delegates discussed environmental sustainability, the economic implications of AI deployment, and the need for inclusive frameworks that help nations — especially in the Global South — harness AI’s potential without being sidelined in global decision-making.
