Senior executives from the world’s largest technology companies are arriving in India this week for an artificial intelligence summit in New Delhi, underscoring the country’s growing importance as a global technology market. India is hosting the AI Impact Summit, the latest in a series of government-backed AI events previously held in the United Kingdom, South Korea, and France.
Among the confirmed attendees are Sam Altman, Sundar Pichai, Dario Amodei, and Demis Hassabis. Jensen Huang was previously expected to attend but reportedly withdrew over the weekend due to unforeseen circumstances.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to host the gathering as India positions itself as a critical growth market for artificial intelligence. The country offers a large base of young, technology-focused consumers and a deep pool of engineering talent that global companies see as essential to future AI development.
“The summit is a huge validation of the potential of the market,” said Lalit Ahuja, chief executive officer of ANSR, a firm that helps companies operate offshore teams in India. He said multinational companies increasingly view India as a market that cannot be ignored.
Infrastructure, Talent, and Users
The summit comes as India and the United States seek closer economic ties, including progress toward a potential trade agreement. Modi’s government has also made technology a central pillar of its economic strategy, approving about $18 billion in semiconductor projects to build a domestic supply chain.
The government has encouraged global manufacturers, including Apple, to expand production in India. Venture capital investment in Indian startups has increased, while local stock markets have seen a rise in initial public offerings. Neil Shah, a partner at Counterpoint Research, said government support has created favorable conditions for multinational companies to expand operations in the country.
Artificial intelligence is expected to dominate discussions at the summit across three areas: infrastructure, users, and talent. Large investment announcements are anticipated around AI data centers as demand for computing power rises. In December, Amazon, Microsoft, and Intel committed to building AI infrastructure and chip-related projects in India.
India has also emerged as one of the largest markets for ChatGPT, giving companies such as OpenAI and rivals like Perplexity an opportunity to attract users in the absence of strong domestic chatbot competitors.
Talent remains a major draw. India has become a hub for Global Capability Centers, or offshore engineering and product teams operated for multinational firms. ANSR said more than 60% of such centers created in the past two years focus on AI, data, or digital engineering, with most new centers expected to be AI-led.
