India is set to host its inaugural major AI event, the India AI Impact Summit 2026, in New Delhi from February 16 to 20. This pivotal gathering will bring together prominent tech figures, including Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, along with leading Indian business leaders such as Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani, according to the summit’s official website. Although OpenAI’s CEO, Sam Altman, is not currently confirmed to attend, insiders suggest he may still make an appearance.
While Altman’s trip has not been publicly confirmed, sources indicate that his visit would mark his first return to India in nearly a year. His last visit occurred in February 2025, during which he expressed his intention to revisit later that same year following OpenAI’s announcement of a new office in New Delhi. However, the anticipated trip did not materialize.
Altman’s potential visit coincides with India’s growing significance as a burgeoning market for American AI firms. In recent months, Anthropic announced the opening of an office in Bengaluru, appointing former Microsoft India managing director Irina Ghose as head of operations there. Simultaneously, Google and Perplexity have formed partnerships with local telecom giants Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel, respectively, to offer premium AI subscription services to millions of customers.
OpenAI has been strategically enhancing its presence in India, seeking talent across enterprise sales, technical deployment, and legal roles targeted at navigating AI regulations. The company’s job openings span New Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru, as India has emerged as ChatGPT’s largest market in terms of downloads and second-largest in active users. However, OpenAI faces challenges in translating this demand into paid subscriptions, prompting the introduction of a budget-friendly “ChatGPT Go” plan last year, priced below $5, which is offered free for the first year to stimulate uptake.
During his trip, Altman is expected to engage with prominent tech executives, startup founders, and government officials, focusing on expanding ChatGPT’s enterprise appeal while enhancing its accessibility as a mass-market product. OpenAI is actively exploring opportunities in various sectors within India, including education and media.
Moreover, OpenAI views India as a potential hub for infrastructural growth. Last year, both Google and Microsoft committed substantial investments to bolster their AI and cloud operations in the country. Nevertheless, India’s aspirations for expanding data centers face challenges such as inconsistent power supply, escalating energy costs, and water scarcity in certain regions, which could impede the development of AI infrastructure and elevate operational costs for cloud service providers.
Despite these hurdles, the Indian government remains optimistic that the upcoming summit will establish the country as a leading destination for AI investment. The IT minister has indicated that the event could potentially attract investments up to $100 billion. Additionally, the federal government is encouraging local startups to develop smaller AI models tailored for specific use cases, effectively decreasing reliance on U.S.-based systems.
Requests for comment from OpenAI, India’s IT ministry, and the organizers of the AI summit have gone unanswered.
