India Just Hosted the First Global AI Summit in the Developing World and the Whole Tech Elite Showed Up

India is making a serious power play. The country just wrapped up the India AI Impact Summit 2026 in New Delhi, and this wasn't some small conference. We're talking PM Modi meeting face-to-face with Sundar Pichai (Google), Sam Altman (OpenAI), and Mukesh Ambani (Asia's richest man) all under one roof.

What makes this summit special is that it's the first major international AI summit held in the Global South. That matters because most of the conversations about AI regulation, safety, and development have been happening in San Francisco, London, and Brussels. India is basically saying: 'Hey, 1.4 billion people live here, and we'd like a seat at the table.'

Modi's message was clear: AI needs to be inclusive and human-centric. He's pushing for a framework where developing countries aren't just consumers of AI built elsewhere, but active builders and shapers of the technology. The summit ran from February 16-20 at the Bharat Mandapam, and it was so popular they had to extend the public expo by an extra day.

Love him or hate him, Modi is positioning India as the bridge between Silicon Valley's AI ambitions and the needs of the developing world.

As reported by Times Now and The Times of India.

Source: Times Now