Bill Gates withdraws from AI Summit, won’t deliver keynote:Decision amid Epstein files row; foundation’s India president to speak

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates will not deliver his keynote address at the ongoing AI Summit in New Delhi. The Gates Foundation provided this information. The Foundation stated that this decision was taken after much deliberation to ensure the summit’s full focus remains on its priorities. The Foundation informed that Ankur Vora will now represent the Foundation at the summit in place of Bill Gates. Ankur Vora is the President of the Gates Foundation’s Africa and India offices. He will present his views in a session at the summit today. Ankur Vora has been overseeing the Foundation’s work for a long time. Gates withdraws after being named in documents related to the Epstein case Bill Gates’ withdrawal from the summit is being attributed to his name appearing in documents related to American criminal Jeffrey Epstein. These secret documents were recently released. Epstein faced serious allegations of sexual offenses and trafficking of minors. After his suicide in 2019, several classified documents related to him have been made public. These files claim that there were deep ties between Epstein and Gates. Epstein had assisted Gates with his extra-marital affairs and other private activities. Bill Gates has expressed regret over these meetings in an interview. He said that he regrets all the time he spent with Epstein and apologizes for it. Nvidia CEO also postponed India visit Tech giants like Google CEO Sundar Pichai and OpenAI’s Sam Altman are participating in the India AI Impact Summit. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang was also supposed to participate, but he has canceled his program. It was speculated that his withdrawal might be due to the presence of Bill Gates. However, the company has not given any official reason. PM Modi inaugurated the AI Impact Summit PM Modi inaugurated ‘India AI Impact Summit 2026’, one of the world’s largest technology events, on February 16. Afterward, he visited the pavilions of the startups participating in the event and learned about their innovations. This event will run until February 20 at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi. Along with the summit, ‘India AI Impact Expo 2026’ has also been organized. Here, companies from around the world have presented their latest AI solutions to the world. Here, common people can see how AI works in real life and what changes AI will bring in the future in fields like agriculture, health, and education. Summit on the theme of ‘Sarvajan Hitay, Sarvajan Sukhay’ (For the welfare of all, for the happiness of all) The theme of this summit is based on the national vision ‘Sarvajan Hitay, Sarvajan Sukhay’ (Welfare of all, Happiness of all). Its objective is to promote the global principle of AI for humanity. More than 110 countries and 30 international organizations are participating in the summit. Heads of state from approximately 20 countries and more than 45 ministers have arrived to attend. The Summit’s Vision Rests on Three ‘Pillars’ The India AI Impact Summit 2026 is based on three main pillars (sutras) – People, Planet, and Progress. People: Promoting human-centric AI that protects people’s rights. Planet: Ensuring environmentally friendly and sustainable AI development. Progress: Emphasizing inclusive economic and technological progress, so that every section of society benefits.