India AI Summit Launches Report to Democratise Compute for Global South

A high-level session at the India AI Impact Summit 2026 has set the tone for a new global push to democratise access to advanced computing power, with the launch of a working report titled "Opening Up Computational Resources for New AI Futures."

The report was unveiled by Dr. Saurabh Garg, Secretary, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, during the session "Building Public Interest AI: Catalytic Funding for Equitable Access to Compute Resources." The discussion brought together senior government leaders, philanthropic organisations and global AI experts to examine how catalytic funding and new institutional models can unlock affordable access to compute for the Global South.

From Data Centres to Public-Interest Outcomes

Speakers agreed that the debate has moved beyond simply building data centre capacity. The focus must now shift to ensuring that compute resources drive measurable public-interest outcomes in sectors such as:

• Health

• Education

• Agriculture

• Climate resilience

The session highlighted the need for demand aggregation, shared infrastructure models, skills development and mission-driven governance frameworks to translate compute access into real-world deployment for startups, researchers and social-impact organisations.

Equity at the Core of the AI Transition

Dr. Garg positioned equity as central to the global AI transition, warning that the defining question is not whether AI will transform the world, but whether that transformation will be inclusive.

"We are of the collective opinion that AI will transform the world. The defining question is whether this transformation will be equitable, inclusive, and aligned with the public interest," he said.

He stressed that access to advanced compute must be designed to serve clearly defined development goals rather than purely commercial interests.

Risk of Infrastructure Without Impact

Martin Tisné, CEO of AI Collaborative, cautioned that capacity expansion alone does not guarantee meaningful impact.

"I do have a worry that we could end up in two years' time in a world where we succeed in having computing capacity in several countries, including in the Global South, but where effectively, the data centres are not used," he said.

His remarks underscored concerns that infrastructure investments could outpace institutional readiness, policy alignment and application development.

Building Institutions to Connect Policy and Capital

Vilas Dhar, President of the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation, argued that scaling public-interest AI requires new institutional mechanisms capable of aligning policy, capital and deployment.

"Transforming AI into a scalable service for consumers and creators is not just a product challenge; it is a policy challenge," Dhar said.

"This progress won't happen through the private market alone… Our work over the next 12 months must focus on building the institutions that 'connect the dots' and support this transformation at scale."

The session emphasized that public and philanthropic capital can act as catalytic funding to de-risk early adoption and expand access to underserved regions.

GPUs in Service of Development

Shikoh Gitau, CEO of Qhala, stressed that compute demand must be anchored in real development use cases.

"It's not just about facilitating the GPU. It's what the GPU is in service of solving for health, education, and agriculture," she said.

Clear use cases, she noted, make both demand forecasting and governance design more effective.

Expanding Access Through New Models

Shaun Seow, CEO of Philanthropy Asia Foundation, highlighted three levers to expand access to advanced computing:

• Demand aggregation across countries and institutions

• Concessional or subsidised access models

• Addressing Asia's significant AI skills gap

"When you think about the emergence of new clouds, or GPU as a service, these developments are going to be good for unleashing AI for social impact and economic capture," Seow said.

However, he warned that a shortage of skilled professionals could limit the Global South's ability to maximise these opportunities.

Roadmap for Public-Interest AI

The session concluded with a shared roadmap that envisions:

• Catalytic public and philanthropic capital

• Shared, regional compute infrastructure

• Interoperable governance frameworks

• Cross-border South–South cooperation

Together, these elements aim to position AI not merely as a commercial technology platform, but as a global public good capable of accelerating inclusive development.

The launch of the working report signals growing momentum behind efforts to reshape the global AI ecosystem — ensuring that access to computational power does not remain concentrated in a handful of advanced economies but becomes a foundational resource for equitable innovation worldwide.