The India AI Impact Summit 2026, scheduled for February 16-20 at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi, is the first global AI summit hosted in the Global South. Google’s Sundar Pichai, OpenAI’s Sam Altman, Nvidia’s Jensen Huang, and Anthropic’s Dario Amodei are among the confirmed attendees. The five-day programme is built around three ‘Sutras’—People, Planet, Progress—and seven working groups called ‘Chakras’ covering AI safety, skilling, inclusion, and economic growth.

The India AI Impact Summit 2026 will be held from February 16-20 at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi. It is the first global AI summit to be hosted in the Global South. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to address the main plenary on February 19.Google CEO Sundar Pichai, OpenAI‘s Sam Altman, Nvidia’s Jensen Huang, Anthropic’s Dario Amodei, DeepMind’s Demis Hassabis, Microsoft President Brad Smith, and Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon are all expected to attend. So are 15-20 heads of government, over 50 international ministers, and more than 40 Indian and global CEOs.

Three ‘sutras,’ seven ‘chakras,’ and over 700 session proposals

The summit is organised around three pillars called ‘Sutras’ — People, Planet, and Progress. These branch into seven ‘Chakras’ or working groups. Each one covers a specific domain: AI skilling, social inclusion, AI safety, scientific research, sustainable computing, democratising AI access, and economic growth.Over 700 session proposals have been received. On February 17, the government will release the AI Compendium—casebooks documenting AI applications in healthcare, agriculture, education, energy, and gender empowerment. The GPAI Council meeting on February 20 closes the summit.

Why Big Tech is lining up for India

India generates nearly 20 per cent of the world’s data. It has the second-largest AI workforce and over 700 million internet users. For AI companies burning through billions in development costs, India’s service economy often called the back-office of the world—is where the customers are.The groundwork is already visible. Anthropic hired former Microsoft India MD Irina Ghose to lead its India operations. OpenAI has set up a dedicated sales division here. Google has partnered with the government and Physics Wallah to push AI in education. On the hardware side, India’s 21-year tax holiday for data centres has companies like Nvidia watching closely.

Rs 2.50 crore prizes, a 70,000 sq mt expo, and youth challenges

The summit includes several competitions. AI for ALL and AI by HER—the latter focused on women-led innovation—both carry top prizes of Rs 2.50 crore. YUVAi is aimed at innovators aged 13-21, with awards up to Rs 85 lakh. There is also India AI Tinkerpreneur, a summer bootcamp for school students from Classes 6-12.The India AI Impact Expo spans over 70,000 square metres. It is expected to feature 300-plus exhibitors from 30 countries across seven thematic pavilions.