AI Summit 2026 LIVE Updates: ‘Cost of AI expected to fall dramatically’ says Sam Altman; Jio to invest ₹10 trillion

Bernard Maissen, Swiss State Secretary and Director General of the Federal Office of Communications, on Thursday, 19 February 2026, said that the AI Impact Summit 2026 is a key event and it is happening for the first time for the Global South.

He also said that the next summit, which is set to be hosted in Geneva in 2027, should bridge the gap between the global north and the global south.

“It is a very important Summit… It is happening for the first time in the Global South… The next Summit should bridge the gap between the North and South,” Maissen told ANI.

Shashi Tharoor said that the first few days of the AI Impact Summit have gone extremely well; however, some glitches happen in a large event.

“These first couple of days have gone extremely well. There have been some glitches, but these things happen in a large event. What has been impressive is the attendance of Presidents, Prime Ministers, and world leaders, and they’ve come with a strong message of wanting to see a newly integrated world in AI development, where the impact upon society would be the principle,” said Congress MP Shashi Tharoor.

Swiss President Guy Parmelin, on Thursday, 19 February 2026, at the AI Impact Summit 2026, announced that Switzerland will be hosting the next edition of the AI summit in Geneva in 2027.

“Switzerland is looking forward to hosting the 2027 AI Summit in Geneva — and to working with the subsequent incoming host of the 2028 AI Summit, the United Arab Emirates, as partner for the Geneva summit,” he said, cited the news agency PTI.

Congress MLA Sofia Firdous said that even though AI bring convenience to people’s lives it is also poses certain threats and there is a strong need to regulate the technology.

“AI brings convenience to our lives but also poses certain threats. It has its own merits and demerits, and there is a strong need to regulate it. People often share personal information through AI tools, which can be leaked and circulated widely. Therefore, clear guidelines and regulations are essential,” Firdous told ANI.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his social media post on X said reiterated what he said during his address today that countries need to work together to create a roadmap that ensures AI delivers the right impact in the world.

“After all, humanity has always turned disruptions into opportunities and the rise of AI presents yet another such key opportunity. Let us work together to create a roadmap that ensures AI delivers the right impact, and this can happen when we take the right decisions, at the right time, with the right policies,” said PM Modi in his post.

When asked about India purchasing 114 Rafale fighter jets, French President Emmanuel Macron told the media that this deal is part of a dialogue between Airbus and the Indian government.

Macron said that this move creates more jobs and, in turn, makes the country stronger, while increasing coordination with France.

“…We are always increasing indigenous components. It’s part of the dialogue between the company and your government. I don’t see how people can criticise because it makes your country stronger, it increases the strategic coordination between us, and it creates more jobs here. Very clearly, we are extremely committed to having the maximum number of Indian components and manufacturing the maximum number of critical devices in India,” said French President Emmanuel Macron.

Billionaire Mukesh Ambani and son Akash Ambani were seen leaving the Jio Pavilion at the Bharat Mandapam as the fourth day of the AI Impact Summit 2026 neared the end of the day.

Bhutan Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay, on the sidelines of the AI Impact Summit 2026, told the news agency ANI that looking forward, he is looking at two related areas — renewable energy and using the energy to acheive common AI goals.

“Going forward, I see partnerships in two related areas. One, enhancing our partnership to harness our fast-flowing rivers to harness clean, green, renewable energy. Two, using this energy to achieve our common objectives in terms of Artificial Intelligence,” said Tshering Tobgay.

Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom said that the public sector is where the people’s trust in artificial intelligence (AI) will be really won or lost, as people look for faster services and better healthcare, among other facilities.

“AI progress and AI safety went hand in hand. It is by showing the world that this technology is safe that we’ll be able to fully reap its benefits. And the public sector is where trust in AI will really be won or lost when people seek faster services, better healthcare, and simpler interactions with government. That’s when the debate about AI becomes real rather than abstract,” said Rishi Sunak.

Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Rishi Sunak, started his speech with a cricket reference as he started his address at the AI Impact Summit 2026 on Tuesday.

“We’ve been hearing all week in Delhi, artificial intelligence can do many things, but it will never replicate that sense of wonder that you feel seeing the red ball, the pleasure that you get from biting into a sweet lagoon. Or, if I can say this here in Delhi, the joy you get from watching RCBS, Smriti Mandhana, hit the perfect drive,” said Rishi Sunak.

OpenAI chief Sam Altman said that the cost of artificial intelligence has come down by more than 1,000 times over a 14-month period, and this is expected to further go down, with the Global South likely to benefit from it the most.

“The cost of getting a difficult answer out of our models has come down compared with two Decembers ago (about 14 months), by more than 1,000 times. So, a 1,000-time reduction in 14 months is just incredible. I don’t think we can deliver that again in the next 14 months, but I expect costs will come down dramatically. If costs come down dramatically, I think that helps the Global South the most,” Sam Altman told the news agency PTI.

Visuals show Prime Minister Narendra Modi holding a bilateral meeting with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis amid the AI Impact Summit 2026 on Thursday in New Delhi.

Director of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Ropar, Rajeev Ahuja, on the sidelines of the AI Impact Summit 2026, told the news agency ANI that India is set to lead the artificial intelligence (AI) world with whatever it develops, as it will be deployed to the world.

“India is going to lead the AI world…Whatever we are going to develop in India, we will deploy it in the whole world. We are working for the good of the whole of humanity. President Macron told the audience that India has proven with its digital avatar what they have created, which nobody believed, but everybody believed what India has done when it comes to digital transactions or in that sphere…We will be the top country in the world when it comes to AI,” said Rajeev Ahuja.

Taking India into the context, the people of the country need to be able to use and adopt AI in their day-to-day life for them to truly extract the real value from the artificial intelligence (AI) technology.

“From an India point of view, the real value of this is only going to be realised when every last person is going to be able to use and adopt AI in their day-to-day life,” said Jeet Adani, Director, Adani Defence and Aerospace.

Norway Minister of Digitalisation and Public Governance, Karianne Oldernes Tung, on the sidelines of the AI Impact Summit 2026, told the news agency ANI that India has done a great job, and Norway appreciates India for prioritising democratic and inclusive AI.

“I want to congratulate India on hosting the AI Impact Summit. They have done a great job. In Norway, we really appreciate India prioritising democratic and inclusive AI. Norway is one of the most digitalised countries in the world. But we won’t be satisfied until every country in the world is digitalised, and that is also one of the priorities of this Summit… A small country like Norway can learn a lot from India, and that is one of the reasons why I am here…” said the minister on Thursday.

Jeet Adani, the Director of Adani Digital Labs, during his address at the AI Impact Summit 2026, reiterated Adani Group’s $100 billion commitment to build a green-energy-powered AI infrastructure, highlighting that it will not just be a data centre, but part of a bigger $250 billion ecosystem plan.

“Our Group would invest 100 billion dollars to build a sovereign, green-energy-powered AI infrastructure platform for the nation. This is not just a data centre expansion. It is the trigger for a 5-gigawatt, 250 billion dollar integrated energy-and-compute ecosystem engineered to anchor India’s Intelligence Revolution,” said Jeet Adani.

Roshni Nadar Malhotra, Chairperson, HCL Tech, during her address at AI Impact Summit 2026, said that the next question will not be whether disruption will come due to the AI push; it will be whether India will lead it.

“The real question is not whether disruption will come, but whether we will lead it, and I believe in it, we are evolving from a people-centric delivery model to an integrated system of software products, intelligent agents and human expertise, delivering outcomes at scale. This is more than just a business shift. It reflects a broader national ambition to build intellectual property that creates enduring, compounding value,” said Roshni Nadar Malhotra.

United Kingdom’s Minister for AI and Online Safety, Kanishka Narayan, on the sidelines of the AI Impact Summit 2026, said that he is keen on collaborations with India and that both nations have a lot to do together.

“The UK and India have shared values and AI trajectory as well,” Kanishka Narayan told the news agency ANI. “I am very keen on collaborations with India as we have a lot to do together.”

Iranian Minister Ehsan Chitsaz, on Thursday, 19 February 2026, on the sidelines of the AI Impact Summit 2026, said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Iran are thinking along the same lines on artificial intelligence (AI).

“Principally, PM Modi and Iran think along the same lines on AI,” said Ehsan Chitsaz, cited the news agency ANI.

Youngest son of billionaire Gautam Adani, and the Director of Adani Digital Labs, Jeet Adani, during his address at the AI Impact Summit 2026, said that India has this “once-in-a-century opportunity” to develop on top of the IT revolution, making the country a global digital services powerhouse.

“We all know that India’s IT revolution made us a global digital services powerhouse, but much of the productivity dividend accrued not in our nation, but elsewhere. This AI revolution gives India a once-in-a-century opportunity to change that equation,” said Adani.

What does AI need to do? Jeet Adani explains

• Our AI must first amplify our Indian productivity. It must enhance our agricultural resilience. It must personalise our education at a massive scale. It must optimise our networks of logistics and bots. It must improve our energy of this energy, our energy and distribution efficiency.
• It must modernise our manufacturing competitiveness. It must expand our healthcare and diagnostics across rural India. It must deepen our financial inclusion across tier two and three towns and religions. AI must become a force multiplier for Indian citizens before it becomes a margin market plan for others.

Jeet Adani, Director, Adani Digital Labs, during his address at the AI Impact Summit 2026, said that India is rising not to dominate but to stabilise in a world which is searching for balance.

“India rises not to dominate, she (India) rises to stabilise. She rises to anchor a world searching for balance, and she rises to build systems that are inclusive and enduring. And when India builds technology, she does not build for exclusion or control; she builds for inclusion, but in this geopolitically joint century,” said Adani.

Meta’s Chief AI Officer, Alexandr Wang, at the AI Impact Summit 2026 on Thursday, 19 February 2026, said that India has world-class developers building genius things to solve societal challenges in the country.

“India has world-class developers building genius things to solve societal challenges…People use our AI right here, right now. They’re getting value from it, and they’re building amazing things with it. That gives us confidence about what we’re building towards,” said Wang.

Wang also said that the company is releasing new models this year, with the first coming in the next couple of months.

Mistral AI CEO Arthur Mensch, speaking at the AI Impact Summit 2026 in New Delhi, said that the future belongs to the people who are building and developing artificial intelligence (AI).

“We believe that the futures belong to the people who are building AI, that are deploying AI, and that actually own it in the world where multiple digits of the GDP are going to produce AI. In the coming two years, we need to ensure that everyone who runs their workload actually has access to the turn on and turn off button, and can actually make sure that there is a business continuity and that they are not dependent on external providers that can actually turn off that button,” he said.

Mensch also highlighted that in a future where openness and autonomy are fundamental rights, countries and regions must own their AI destiny.

Visual showed Prime Minister Narendra Modi meeting the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, HH Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, on Thursday, 19 February 2026, at the AI Impact Summit 2026 in New Delhi.

OpenAI chief Sam Altman and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei refused to hold hands during a group photo session at the AI Impact Summit 2026 in New Delhi, even as other leaders linked their arms for a ceremonial photo.

Google’s Sundar Pichai and Meta’s Alexandr Wang were among others to join Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the photography session on Thursday.

This comes weeks after a Super Bowl advertisement clash when Anthropic ran spots viewed as jabs taken towards OpenAI.

Accenture CEO and Chairperson, Julie Sweet, said that the India AI Impact Summit 2026 has served as a great recognition where countries are coming together with their private and public sector as we move towards artificial intelligence.

“This summit has been a great recognition of the importance of countries coming together, private sector and the public sector, and it’s really been a great testimony to the importance of India as well… One of the themes of the summit has been the importance of inclusive growth, inclusive AI, and I think the fact that there are so many people here from around the world tells you that leaders are committed to this,” said Julie Sweet on the sidelines of the mega AI event.

Martin Schroeter, Chairman and CEO, Kyndryl, on Thursday, 19 February 2026, said that the company is opening a new cyber defence operation centre in Bengaluru on Friday to detect and contain threats before they become a disruption.

“Tomorrow we’re opening a new cyber defence operation centre in Bengaluru, so we can detect and contain threats that already start at the edge of the network before they become disruptions. So we are deeply committed to helping India and our partners around the world implement AI at scale to drive people, planet and progress outcomes,” said Schroeter at the AI Impact Summit on Thursday.

Visuals show billionaire Chairman & Managing Director of Reliance Industries Limited, Mukesh Ambani, greeting Bhutan Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay at the India AI Impact Summit 2026 on Thursday, 19 February 2026.

Roy Jakobs, the chief executive officer (CEO) of Phillips, said India brings real-world complexity and skill to the table, which has the potential to change the global reform goals of care.

“India also brings something else to the table, real world, complexity and skill, urban and rural settings, public and private systems, higher and tertiary care systems and primary health centers, the diversity of care environment created unparalleled test beds for scalable, resilient solutions, solutions built for India, scale and constraints have the potential to reform global goals of care,” said Roy Jakobs.

PM Narendra Modi visits expo and exhibits with world leaders and top CEOs at AI Summit in Bharat Mandapam.

“We should not confuse how we deploy AI responsibly. Technology, no matter, how powerful is only a tool. It is leaders how to use those tools, commit to reinvent, choose to work together to ensure the safe and widespread adoption of AI,” says Julie Sweet, CEO of Accenture.

“India is doing a great job twitter-tweetding AI in education, right from primary school. Other countries will need to do so,” says Julie Sweet, CEO of Accenture

“The world has come to India so that we can think together about what we can do to bring AI to more of the world, especially the global South. We have more work to do. It’s going to require investments, partnerships by tech companies, by other private capital, by governments. We have to keep investing in skillings which is a big part of what we’re doing at Microsoft this week…We’re on a pace to invest $50 billion before the end of the decade to bring AI to the global south, both infrastructure and through skilling,” says Vice Chair and President of Microsoft, Bradford Lee Smith.

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei on Thursday said the benefits of AI in the Global South are more pronounced than anywhere else in the world, emphasising that India’s considerable technical expertise and eagerness to adopt AI present significant growth potential.

In a fireside chat at the AI Impact Summit 2026, Amodei said that while AI adoption has the potential to boost growth, we need to make sure that AI systems are safe and predictable and autonomously behave in a way that’s under human control.

“I definitely believe that AI is becoming very important in the world ahead. Our generation will shape what is being built today, and we will be the ones to define its future. It is extremely important, and we have a key role in shaping it. As a keynote speaker here, I am connecting ancient Indian philosophies with modern technologies. I am also discussing how different nations are adopting various approaches to building AI. Additionally, I am sharing my use case of a recently released Indian AI model and how I am contributing to India’s GDP while promoting AI literacy,” says Ranvir Sachdeva, youngest keynote speaker at AI Impact Summit 2026.

“The AI Impact Summit in Delhi has brought together the who’s who from the AI world. There is representation from over 100 countries. There are distinguished participants from every corner of the globe. Our aim is the same – leveraging the power of AI for the welfare of our planet,” posts PM Modi.

“India’s AI opportunity is amazing. It’s great to be here. This is one of our fastest-growing markets in the world. Maybe it’s the fastest at this point. It’s certainly the fastest for OpenAI Codex. There are more than 100 million people. They use ChatGPT every week. We’re delighted to be here,” says Sam Altman.

By 2028-end more of the world’s intellectual capacity could reside inside of data centres than outside of them: OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.

“ Cost of AI needs to come down for it to adjust to a country like India. But AI will be helpful in education and healthcare,” says Yann LeCun, Executive Chairman, Advanced Machine Intelligence Labs

United Kingdom’s Minister for AI and Online Safety, Kanishka Narayan says, “The summit has been deeply impactful…The UK and India have shared values and AI trajectory as well…I am very keen on collaborations with India as we have a lot to do together”.

India’s artificial intelligence strategy supports innovation through a light and flexible regulatory approach. By avoiding both heavy regulation and a completely free-market model, the country aims to strike a balance as it hosts the India AI Impact Summit, according to Amlan Mohanty, a non-resident fellow at NITI Aayog and fellow at Carnegie India.

“The India AI Impact Summit is actually a very important moment for the Global South because we are bringing the idea of inclusive development to the global stage,” he said. “The primary goal of this summit is thinking about how we can use AI for development, for socioeconomic growth.”

“India’s direction regarding AI is clear. India’s vision is clear. AI is a shared resource for the benefit of all humanity. Together, we must create an AI future that advances innovation, strengthens inclusion, and moves forward by incorporating human values. When technology and human trust go hand in hand, the true impact of AI will be visible on the world,” says PM Modi.

“Parents are asking — ‘What will AI mean for my kids, our family, and our future?’ I think we have something to prove that we can not only embrace but pursue a bright future for people,” says Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith

PM Modi says, “I have three suggestions for the ethical use of excellence and AI. First, a data framework for AI training should be developed while respecting data sovereignty. As the saying goes in AI, garbage in, garbage out. If the data is not secure, balanced, and reliable, the output will not be trustworthy. Therefore, a global trusted data framework is essential. Second, AI platforms should keep their safety rules very clear and transparent. We need a glass box approach instead of a black box, where safety rules can be viewed and verified. Accountability will become clearer, and ethical behaviour in business will also be encouraged. Third, the paperclip problem is often cited in AI research. If a machine is given the goal of simply making paperclips, it will continue to do so, even at the cost of devouring all the world’s resources. Therefore, AI requires clear human values ​​and guidance…”

“For a democratic AI future, tools and wealth are not enough; we need to give them agency and power,” says Sam Altman.

“AI is going to make many things a lot cheaper, including healthcare, education and supply chains,” says Sam Altman.

Democratisation of AI is the only safe path forward and the best way to ensure humanity flourishes

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman addresses AI Impact Summit

At the Plenary Session of India AI Impact Summit2026, Prime Minister Narendra Modi says, “It is believed that this Summit will play a crucial role in building a human-centric, sensitive global AI ecosystem. If we look at history, we see that humans have transformed every disruption into a new opportunity. Today, we have once again faced such an opportunity. Together, we have to transform this disruption into humanity’s biggest opportunity…”

“India has the opportunity to become one of the world’s consequential environments for the application of AI, not just a builder of technology, but a place where AI is tested against real-world complexities and made to work at scale,” says Rishad Premji.