World Leaders, Tech Titans Converge at India AI Impact Summit 2026

The India AI Impact Summit 2026 opened in New Delhi with an unprecedented gathering of world leaders, multilateral institutions and Big Tech CEOs, positioning India at the centre of the global debate on the future of Artificial Intelligence.

Held at Bharat Mandapam and inaugurated by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, the high-level Opening Ceremony set the tone for the summit's central theme: responsible innovation, scientific advancement and international collaboration in shaping an inclusive AI-driven future.

With participation from over 100 countries, the inaugural session underscored the summit's growing stature as a defining platform for global AI governance and technological cooperation.

India's AI Strategy: Democratisation, Scale and Sovereignty

Union Minister of Electronics and Information Technology Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw presented India's AI roadmap as a full-stack strategy built on democratisation, scale and national sovereignty.

He outlined India's integrated approach across five key layers of the AI ecosystem:

• Applications

• Models

• Compute

• Talent

• Energy

The Minister stressed that India's AI push is focused on real-world deployment across healthcare, agriculture, education and public services, ensuring technology delivers measurable social impact.

"AI is the Infrastructure of Intelligence": Tata Sons Chairman

Chairman of Tata Sons N. Chandrasekaran described AI as the next foundational infrastructure, comparable to steam engines, electricity and the internet.

"AI is the next big infrastructure. It is the infrastructure of intelligence," he said.

He highlighted India's success in building digital public infrastructure and argued that AI must now be developed as a strategic national capability across the entire value chain — from semiconductor chips and systems to energy and applications.

Calling this the "age of abundant intelligence," Chandrasekaran emphasised that the real scarce resources would be trust, stewardship and human capability.

Anthropic CEO Warns of Rapid AI Acceleration

Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, described AI progress over the past two-and-a-half years as "staggering," noting that the technology has been advancing on an exponential curve for nearly a decade.

He warned that AI systems may soon surpass human cognitive capabilities across most domains.

"We are increasingly close to what I've called a 'country of geniuses in the data centre'… That level of capability brings extraordinary opportunities — but also serious risks," Amodei said.

He called for close collaboration between governments and companies to manage disruption and ensure prosperity is shared responsibly.

Google CEO: Avoid an AI Divide

Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google, called AI "the biggest platform shift of a lifetime," highlighting its potential to accelerate scientific discovery and help emerging economies leapfrog development gaps.

However, he cautioned that inclusive progress is not automatic.

"We cannot allow the digital divide to become an AI divide," Pichai said, urging bold innovation combined with responsible governance.

UN Chief Calls for Global AI Guardrails and Fund

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres praised India for hosting the first major AI summit in the Global South and warned against allowing AI's future to be shaped by a handful of countries or private interests.

"The future of AI cannot be decided by a handful of countries or left to the whims of a few billionaires," he said.

He highlighted two key initiatives adopted by the UN General Assembly:

• An independent international scientific panel of 40 global experts on AI

• A Global Dialogue on AI Governance

Guterres also proposed a Global Fund on AI to help developing countries build capacity, stressing that AI must preserve human oversight, accountability and dignity.

Macron: Sovereign and Responsible AI is Strategic

French President Emmanuel Macron framed AI as a geopolitical and economic domain that will shape global power balances.

Drawing parallels with India's digital public infrastructure revolution, he argued that AI development must combine innovation with strategic autonomy.

"The smartest AI is not the most expensive. It is the one built by the best people and for the right purpose," Macron said.

He emphasised that no nation should be reduced to a passive market for foreign AI models and affirmed deeper India–France collaboration in building sovereign and responsible AI systems.

A Defining Global Platform for AI's Future

The participation of global political leaders, multilateral institutions and industry pioneers demonstrated the summit's growing importance as a central forum for shaping AI's trajectory.

With themes of sovereignty, inclusion, ethics, collaboration and shared prosperity dominating the discussions, the India AI Impact Summit 2026 has positioned itself as a critical milestone in the global effort to ensure Artificial Intelligence evolves as a human-centred and globally accessible technology.