Chaos, confusion and $200 billion ambitions: Inside India’s high-stakes AI summit

Despite logistical chaos and controversies, India’s AI Impact Summit underscored the country’s growing pull for global tech giants eyeing talent, scale and massive investment opportunities.

India hosted one of the world’s largest artificial intelligence gatherings this week, but the ambition on display at the AI Impact Summit in New Delhi was matched by confusion on the ground, testing both delegates and organisers.

From gridlocked traffic and unclear media access to conflicting security instructions, reporting from the summit proved unusually challenging. The issues peaked on the day Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the event at Bharat Mandapam, when journalists were left uncertain about entry timings and procedures.

Several delegates voiced frustration over poor coordination, while controversies added to the disorder. Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, initially scheduled to deliver a keynote, ultimately pulled out, creating uncertainty around the agenda. Separately, Galgotias University faced online backlash after a robot dog displayed at the summit was revealed to be manufactured by Chinese firm Unitree, not developed in-house as widely assumed. India’s IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw later apologized for the “problems” on the summit’s opening day.

A lighter but viral moment unfolded when Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, and Dario Amodei of Anthropic appeared confused during a staged hand-holding moment with other AI leaders on stage. Altman later said he was unsure what was expected of him.

Yet, despite the turbulence, enthusiasm for India’s AI potential was unmistakable. Executives from global tech giants, including Sundar Pichai of Alphabet, highlighted India’s vast talent pool, large consumer base and growing digital infrastructure.

“The excitement here, it’s just been incredible to watch,” Altman said, reflecting the broader sentiment among attendees.

The summit also served as a platform for major announcements. OpenAI revealed it would become the first customer of Tata Consultancy Services’ data centre business, while Google announced new partnerships with Indian researchers and educational institutions around its Gemini AI platform.

India’s government used the event to project bold ambitions, stating its aim to attract $200 billion in AI investments over the next two years. Officials positioned the country as a future global AI hub, capable of shaping both innovation and adoption at scale.

In the end, even the chaos of New Delhi’s traffic and the summit’s organisational missteps failed to overshadow the bigger message: global tech firms remain deeply interested in India, viewing it as a critical market and a cornerstone of their long-term AI strategies.