India AI Impact Summit 2026 Earns Unprecedented Praise: Entrepreneurs, Tech Leaders Applaud India’s Mega AI Event, Call It ‘A Transformational Moment For Country’
The AI Impact Summit 2026, one of the world’s largest gatherings on artificial intelligence, held in New Delhi, has witnessed unprecedented response, prompting organisers to extend the event by an extra day. Originally scheduled to conclude this week, the summit will now continue until February 21 at Bharat Mandapam, after receiving overwhelming public and industry interest. To accommodate the unprecedented surge, organisers have also announced longer visiting hours.
Tech Leaders Praise AI Impact Summit 2026
The scale of the summit has received widespread praise from across the country as well as globally. Tech leaders and visitors have praised the organisers for smoother entry, high footfall, and vibrant energy across startup booths.
Rajan Anandan, Managing Director of Peak XV Partners, shared his experience on X, highlighting the huge number of attendees who visited the summit on day one.
“Fun fact: the number of attendees at the @SarvamAI launch at the #IndiaAISummit2026 is higher than the total number of attendees at the entire AI Summit in Paris in 2025!” Rajan said.
Bengaluru-based AI startup founder Dhananjay Yadav lauded Delhi Police for being “extremely proactive and supportive,” noting smoother entry, high footfall, and vibrant energy across startup booths. He highlighted the affordability of exhibiting at the summit, saying, “a five-day pod costs Rs 25,000, whereas similar spaces in the US or Europe would cost around $199 or more, incredible accessibility for early-stage founders.”
Fun fact: the number of attendees at the @SarvamAI launch at the #IndiaAISummit2026 is higher than the total number of attendees at the entire AI Summit in Paris in 2025! pic.twitter.com/P3tYXS9Cpk
— Rajan Anandan (@RajanAnandan) February 18, 2026
Digital rights activist and MediaNama founder Nikhil Pahwa emphasised the summit’s broader impact. He highlighted how the summit represents a “transformational moment,” noting that India’s scale in hosting the event is significant for the country’s AI ambitions.
“A summit like this, with this much bandwidth allocated by the government, even if the agenda is flat or the organisation imperfect, ends up making AI a priority focus for ministries and state governments. This encourages diffusion of AI thinking across ministries, industries, and students, increasing adoption of AI, especially in governance. It reduces the time for adoption, similar to the effect of Digital India.”
Pahwa added, “With 250,000 attendees, especially students, we are witnessing the beginning of a mindset change. While India may lag behind the US and China in some areas, opportunities remain in sectoral diffusion, in education, healthcare, defence, commerce, governance, manufacturing, and pharmaceutical research. This is a start of a Digital India-like moment, and I’m very hopeful.”
My comments on the AI Summit (said something similar on my panel yesterday):
A summit like this, with this much bandwidth allocated to it by the government, even if the agenda is flat, even if organizing is poor, ends up making AI a priority focus for ministries and state…
— Nikhil Pahwa (@nixxin) February 17, 2026
Indian filmmaker Shekhar Kapur observed the enthusiasm among young attendees.
“The auditorium overflowed with young people eager to listen and learn about AI. The enthusiasm convinces me that India is soon going to be a superpower in AI. But we need to approach AI from an Indian perspective. Western models won’t work here; the rise of AI in India will come from the bottom of the pyramid, where it is most needed and where true need-based intuition exists.”
Auditorium overflowed with young people eager to listen and learn about AI at India AI Impact Summit.
The enthusiasm and eagerness convinces me that India is soon going to be a superpower in AI.
But we need to look at AI from an Indian point of view. Just like we looked at… pic.twitter.com/gd80fDylRb
— Shekhar Kapur (@shekharkapur) February 17, 2026
Mega AI Impact Summit 2026
Inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the summit spans ten arenas covering over 70,000 square metres. It brings together global tech firms, startups, academia, research institutions, union ministries, state governments, and international partners.
India AI Impact Summit is about many stories on indigenous innovations and achievements. It is a marquee event for display of present and future AI technologies at international level.
Each such story is a testament to India’s growing AI ecosystem. There are hundreds of stalls… pic.twitter.com/R4QCy0fTkW
— Tapas Bhattachary (@tapasjournalist) February 18, 2026
The exhibition features more than 300 curated pavilions and live demonstrations across three thematic pillars: People, Planet, and Progress. A key highlight is the participation of over 600 high-potential startups, many showcasing AI solutions deployed at population scale and in real-world contexts.
Also Read: Bharat Mandapam Hosts Mega AI Impact Summit 2026 As India Steals the Global Spotlight
Zubair Amin is a Senior Journalist at NewsX with over seven years of experience in reporting and editorial work. He has written for leading national and international publications, including Foreign Policy Magazine, Al Jazeera, The Economic Times, The Indian Express, The Wire, Article 14, Mongabay, News9, among others. His primary focus is on international affairs, with a strong interest in US politics and policy. He also writes on West Asia, Indian polity, and constitutional issues. Zubair tweets at zubaiyr.amin
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