New Delhi is hosting the India AI Impact Summit 2026, which will begin on Monday. The summit brings together some of the most influential leaders in artificial intelligence, as well as policymakers and executives from corporates.
Bharat Mandapam will host the five-day event from 16 February to 20 February. This is the first AI Summit hosted by the Global South.
The fourth global AI summit is expected to be one of the biggest.
The Prime Minister Narendra Modi will officially inaugurate the summit and host a CEO Roundtable on 19th February. Governments and businesses are increasingly viewing India as a central part of their investment and deployment strategies for artificial intelligence.
More than 40 Indian chief executives and 15-20 heads of state and government will attend the summit.
Participants include Google CEO Sundar Pichai; OpenAI CEO Sam Altman; Nvidia Chief Executive Jensen Huang; Biocon Chairman Kiran Mazumdar Shaw and Microsoft President Brad Smith. Meta Chief AI Officer Alexandr Wang is also present, as well as Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon, Google DeepMind’s CEO Demis Hassabis and Anthropic’s CEO Dario Amoei.
The summit is expected to attract thousands of participants from government, business, and academia, a reflection of its importance in shaping global investments, partnerships, policy, and decisions related to artificial intelligence.
Structure of the Expo and Summit
Over the course of five days, more than 700 sessions will be held, covering topics such as artificial intelligence, safety, ethics, governance, data protection and India’s sovereignty AI approach.
The India AI Impact Expo is a key part of this gathering. It covers more than 70,000 sqm and features over 300 exhibitors.
This expo will feature practical applications of artificial intelligence in healthcare, agriculture and education. It also includes climate change, energy efficiency and accessibility.
The event will also highlight India’s national skillsing initiatives such as AI for ALL (AI for ALL), AI by HER (AI for HER), YUVAi and India AI Tinkerpreneur.
The programmes aim to increase the awareness of artificial intelligence and develop skills in students, young professionals and groups underrepresented.
Three foundational Sutras guide the summit, which are People, Planet and Progress.
Seven working groups called Chakras support these initiatives. They cover human capital, inclusion to empower socially, trusted AI that is safe, science and resilience, innovation and democratisation of AI resources.
Meeting agenda and important meetings
The five-day summit includes keynote addresses, roundtable discussions, industry symposiums and research sessions.
The India AI Expo, which will be inaugurated on February 16th, will feature keynote sessions, discussions about policy, and startup, government, and industry leaders.
The panel discussion will continue on February 17 and knowledge compendia, such as casebooks, will be published.
On February 18, academics, think tanks, and researchers will present artificial intelligence policy and research insights.
The industry will be able to showcase their own deployments, innovations and real-world implementations.
The formal opening will be held on February 19, led by the Prime Minister Modi. There will also be a CEO roundtable with global executives, policymakers, and investors.
The Global Partnership on Artificial intelligence Council meeting will be held on February 20. Member nations will review progress, coordinate priorities and enhance multilateral co-operation, then adopt a leaders’ statement.
India emerges as key AI market
India is a growing artificial intelligence market, as evidenced by the presence of technology leaders from around the world.
Companies that invest in AI infrastructure and models are looking for opportunities to adopt them by customers or enterprises, and this will support their long-term growth.
India is a key location to deploy artificial intelligence in sectors like enterprise services, government, and education.
India is also a target for technology companies, who are targeting the expansion of its infrastructure, such as data centres and computing capacities, and this could lead to an increase in demand for AI hardware and software.
India’s growing population, large data ecosystem and internet users offer opportunities to train, deploy and commercialise artificial intelligence.
India is positioning itself as an important centre of global cooperation in artificial intelligence and technology investments. The outcomes from the summit are expected to provide guidance for policymakers, industry leaders and investors.
Hotel prices surge
New Delhi has seen a surge in demand for luxury accommodations as a result of the summit.
Bloomberg reports that some hotel suites normally priced at under $1,000 per night have been listed as high as $33,000. This is due to the intense competition between corporate delegations and foreign officials seeking accommodation near summit venues.
Some five-star hotel chains have introduced stay minimums, and have raised the rates of their top rooms. They have also reserved entire floors for senior officials and government delegations.
Hotels near government and diplomatic zones are most affected, as proximity and security is crucial.
Private aviation has increased in Delhi as well, with executives and investors arriving for meetings and partnerships discussions.
Price increases highlight the size of the event, with global tech companies, policy makers, and investors convergent on India in order to establish partnerships, secure investments, and gain influence within the artificial intelligence industry.
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