On 16 February, India officially launched the event. India AI Impact Summit 2026. This is a major global AI technology event where India aims to create a significant impact and enhance its profile as a leading technology and economic power.
Amidst the AI landscape reshaping the global economy and labor markets, raising questions about regulation, security, and ethics, this is the fourth AI Summit. Previously held in the UK, South Korea, and France, it evolved from a small meeting focused on advanced AI safety to a large-scale event covering all aspects of the industry. It brings together national leaders, governments, ministers, top technology figures, and researchers to discuss AI's role in promoting inclusive, equitable, and responsible growth.
For India, the world's most populous country and one of the fastest-growing digital markets, this event is an opportunity to showcase itself as a "bridge" between developed countries and the Global South—the group of developing and least developed nations.
With experience building large-scale digital infrastructure like digital identity systems and payment platforms, alongside a rapidly growing tech startup market fueled by a young, tech-savvy consumer base and vast talent pool, India has become a new growth battleground for tech companies entering the region.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India. He will preside over the opening ceremony on 19 February and posted on X last Monday that "This event is proof that our country is rapidly advancing in science and technology and reflects the potential of Indian youth."
In recent years, Modi's government has signaled its ambition for India to become a global "technology superpower." India has approved a semiconductor project worth over 18 billion U.S. dollars to build a domestic supply chain and encourages tech giants like Apple to increase production within the country.
Many notable figures will attend, including national leaders such as French President Emmanuel Macron and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. From big tech, attendees include Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI; Sundar Pichai, CEO of Alphabet; Dario Amodei from Anthropic; Demis Hassabis, CEO of Google DeepMind; Brad Smith, President of Microsoft; and Yann LeCun, Chief Scientist of AMI Labs.
AI is the core focus, with three main aspects: infrastructure, users, and talent. Many major companies are expected to announce significant investments in India, while India will actively promote business opportunities domestically.
On infrastructure, large-scale investment deals in AI data centers are anticipated due to rising demand for processing power. Tech companies are increasingly hungry for computing resources. In December, Amazon, Microsoft, and Intel announced plans to invest in building AI infrastructure and chip manufacturing in India.
Regarding users, India is one of OpenAI's largest markets, with the second-highest number of ChatGPT users after the U.S. Indian students are the top users of ChatGPT. Both OpenAI and competitors like Perplexity AI offer free access to tools to attract users and valuable data for future model training. Importantly, India currently lacks a major local competitor to the U.S. AI chatbot market, presenting a prime opportunity to expand a tech-savvy user base.
On talent, India is seen as a major AI talent factory with substantial potential. The number of Global Capability Centers (GCCs) in India continues to rise. GCCs are offshore operation centers set up by multinational companies. According to ANSR data, over 60% of GCCs established in the past two years focus on AI, data, digital engineering, or product development, and more than 80% of GCCs expected to open in the next 6-8 months will be AI-driven.
Additionally, the Indian government has supported investment in startups and created opportunities for new companies to enter the stock market via IPOs. Recently, India allocated a 1.1 billion U.S. dollar government-backed venture capital fund to invest in AI and advanced manufacturing startups nationwide.
Sources:Bloomberg.,Al Jazeera.,TechCrunch.,CNBC.,PIB.
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