New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to meet 35–40 top global CEOs, including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, at the upcoming AI Impact Summit in New Delhi next week, sources told .
Among the prominent business leaders expected to attend are Sunil Bharti Mittal (Airtel), N Chandrasekharan (Tata Sons Chairman), philanthropist Bill Gates, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, and senior executives from Microsoft, Netflix, Zoom and Amazon.
According to sources, discussions will focus on India’s AI strategy, future investment plans, job creation opportunities, and collaboration with the Indian government on AI adoption and digital transformation.
Microsoft’s Record $17.5 Billion Investment in India
The summit follows Microsoft’s major announcement in December, when the tech giant committed $17.5 billion (around ₹1.5 lakh crore) to India over four years. The investment aims to expand AI infrastructure, enhance cloud capacity and train millions of Indians in advanced digital skills.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella had earlier met Prime Minister Modi in New Delhi to discuss India’s growing importance in the global AI ecosystem.
India Expects $100 Billion Investment Commitments
India is expecting investment commitments worth around $100 billion during the summit, officials said.
At PM Modi’s invitation, leaders from 20 countries are scheduled to attend, including Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, French President Emmanuel Macron, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, along with leaders from Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, the UAE, Africa, Latin America and Eastern Europe.
In addition, ministerial delegations from more than 45 countries, the UN Secretary-General, and senior representatives from international organisations will participate.
Summit Built Around India’s ‘Three Sutras’ of AI
According to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), the summit is anchored around three guiding principles or “Sutras” — People, Planet and Progress. These pillars reflect India’s cooperative and inclusive approach to artificial intelligence development.
The five-day event will be hosted across major venues in New Delhi, including Bharat Mandapam and Sushma Swaraj Bhawan, along with multiple other locations across the capital.
Unprecedented Scale and Grassroots Participation
Senior officials described the summit’s scale as unprecedented, with over two lakh participants already registered. Attendees include representatives from governments, industry, academia and civil society.
Notably, a large number of farmers and grassroots participants have also registered, highlighting India’s effort to link AI discussions with real-world development and everyday applications.
Focus on Jobs, Automation and Skills
The summit will address global concerns about automation, job losses and workforce transitions. Dedicated sessions will explore skilling, reskilling and future employment opportunities in an AI-driven economy.
Previous editions of the AI Impact Summit were held in Paris, Seoul and Bletchley Park (UK), the historic World War II code-breaking centre.
(NDTV is also hosting a separate AI summit on February 18.)