AI Leaders Gather in India for Summit; Nvidia's Huang Absent

Global AI executives convened in New Delhi on February 16, 2026, for the India Government-hosted AI Impact Summit, signaling tech giants' strategic push into a key growth market. Notably absent was Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, whose last-minute cancellation added an unexpected twist to the event. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the summit. With U.S.-India ties advancing toward a trade pact, the gathering underscored both industry and geopolitical significance. Attendees included Sam Altman of OpenAI, Sundar Pichai of Alphabet, Dario Amodei of Anthropic, and Demis Hassabis of Google DeepMind. India's $18 billion semiconductor initiative, expanding local manufacturing, and surging venture capital and IPO activity highlight its AI ambitions. Amazon, Microsoft, and Intel have committed to building AI data centers and chip facilities. India is also a major market for ChatGPT, with OpenAI and Perplexity offering free services to capture users and training data. Over 60% of new global capability centers focus on AI, data, and digital engineering. Nvidia's absence shifted attention, but amid sustained global AI investment, major announcements on India-bound projects remained likely. For New Delhi, the summit reinforced India's position as a rising AI hub.