Bill Gates withdrew from India’s AI Impact Summit just hours before his scheduled keynote on Thursday, as scrutiny over his past relationship with Jeffrey Epstein intensified following the release of emails by the U.S. Justice Department.
The abrupt cancellation dealt a setback to a flagship event aimed at positioning India as a leading voice in global AI governance. Organizers said Gates would not deliver his address “to ensure the focus remains on the AI Summit’s key priorities.” The philanthropic foundation he co-founded in 2000 did not respond to questions about whether the withdrawal was directly linked to renewed scrutiny.
Gates has previously said his interactions with Epstein were limited to philanthropy-related discussions and described meeting him as a mistake. The controversy resurfaced after DOJ-released emails showed communication between Epstein and staff at the Gates Foundation.
The six-day summit, held in New Delhi, has nevertheless secured more than $200 billion in investment pledges for AI infrastructure. Among the largest commitments was a $110 billion plan announced by Reliance Industries. India’s Tata Group also signed a partnership agreement with OpenAI.
High-Profile Absences and AI Commitments
Gates had been expected to join a lineup of global technology leaders including Sundar Pichai, Sam Altman, and Dario Amodei. His withdrawal followed an earlier cancellation by Jensen Huang, adding to challenges for a summit billed as the first major AI forum hosted in the Global South.
In his keynote address, Narendra Modi called for greater vigilance around children’s safety on AI platforms. Standing alongside French President Emmanuel Macron and senior AI executives, Modi emphasized the need for family-guided safeguards in digital systems.
The summit also marked the launch of the New Delhi Frontier AI Commitments, a set of voluntary principles adopted by leading AI companies to promote responsible development of advanced models. Altman told attendees that ChatGPT now has 100 million weekly users in India, underscoring the country’s scale as a growth market for AI services.
Organizational Challenges
Despite major investment announcements, the summit has faced criticism over logistics and planning. Exhibition halls were unexpectedly closed to the public on Thursday, frustrating companies that had set up booths. Police road closures to accommodate VIP movements led to traffic disruptions across the capital.
In one incident, Galgotias University was asked to vacate its stall after a staff member presented a commercially available robotic dog manufactured in China as its own innovation, prompting public backlash.
Opposition parties criticized the government for mismanagement, while attendees voiced frustration over delays and restricted access. The government later apologized for the inconvenience.
Even with high-profile absences and operational setbacks, the scale of pledged investment highlights India’s ambitions to expand AI infrastructure and influence global policy debates around frontier technologies.
