The world is watching New Delhi as India hosts India AI Impact Summit 2026 a historic summit that serves as one of the first AI mega-events to be held in the Global South. By converting the famed Bharat Mandapam into a dynamic center of technology, the summit is raising the bar for scale and international cooperation.
The Mega Size: A City of Innovation within Delhi
The India AI Impact Summit is not just a conference. The India AI Impact Summit, which took place on 16 February 2026, held at the State of India's capital, Delhi, is one of the largest technology exhibitions in the world. Featuring 10 signature arenas at the Bharat Mandapam, they are set up at the festival to showcase AI in action by offering insight into its potential and the three main foundations "Sutras" - People, Planet and Progress.
Summit Highlights and Features
| Feature | Magnitude |
| Startups | 600+ high-potential AI ventures |
| Total Area | 70,000+ square meters |
| Expected Footfall | 2.5 lakh visitors (including 10,000+ international delegates) |
| Global Participation | 13 Country Pavilions (UK, Japan, France, Australia, etc.) |
| Expertise | 3,250+ speakers across 500 sessions |
The Startup Revolution at the Heart of The Summit with 600+ startup-scale solutions on population scale, at the heart of our summit. Unlike standard tech fairs, each of the startups is demonstrating live, existing models currently in action like in, say, healthcare, agriculture or climate resilience. One of the highlights here is to present 12 indigenous foundation models using Indian datasets to process all 22 official Indian languages a major step towards achieving "sovereign AI.”
World Leaders and Tech Titans Come together
The list is at once reminiscent of a global power register. Key participants in the summit include:
- Political Figures: French President Emmanuel Macron, Brazilian President Lula da Silva and top ministers of more than 45 countries on the agenda.
- Tech CEOs: Sam Altman (OpenAI), Jensen Huang (NVIDIA), Sundar Pichai (Google) and Dario Amodei (Anthropic).
- Area of Focus: The deliberation is on "Seven Chakras" of AI such as Safe & Trusted AI, Human Capital, and Inclusion for Social Empowerment.
Impact Challenges and Prizes
The summit is raising awareness for innovation with the Global Impact Challenges in India.
- AI for ALL & AI by HER Offering top prizes of ₹2.5 crore in both scalable solutions for large-scale programs and women's AI ventures:
- YUVAi - A special section for young innovators (ages 13-21) to highlight AI and its contribution to society.
The Road Ahead: Delhi Declaration
India wants to launch a "Global Governance Framework for AI" as a leading direction for that effort once the summit ends February 20 and it will be held through the GPAI Council meeting to decide on this matter. By hosting this, India has been perceived as the “service provider of the future,” uniting the technologies and ethical responsibilities.
