Bill Gates India AI Impact Summit 2026: Microsoft founder Bill Gates will attend the AI Impact Summit 2026 at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi, the Gates Foundation confirmed, dismissing media reports that claimed he would not be present amid the Epstein files backlash. The clarification came after confusion arose when his name was briefly dropped from the list of key participants for the summit.
Gates continues to be listed among the key participants, alongside top technology leaders such as OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Google CEO Sundar Pichai. However, Bill Gates is currently listed on the summit’s official website among technology executives, industry leaders, policymakers, founders and technologists. The event is scheduled to take place from February 16 to 20. His name, however, was not visible on the website on Tuesday, which sparked speculation about whether he would attend.
Bill Gates, Chair of the Gates Foundation, is attending the India AI Impact Summit. He will be delivering his keynote as scheduled: Gates Foundation spokesperson
(file pic) pic.twitter.com/k9OZyEqZKW— ANI (@ANI) February 17, 2026
Epstein files backlash and documents
The confusion over his participation came after fresh social media reactions to a new batch of documents linked to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who died in prison in 2019. Portions of the documents released by the US Justice Department mentioned Gates’ name. One note cited in the documents claims that Epstein allegedly said he had helped Gates obtain drugs “to deal with consequences of sex with Russian girls.”
Gates has strongly denied any wrongdoing. In an interview with Nine News, he described the allegations as “absolutely absurd and completely false,” and rejected claims that he had contracted a sexually transmitted disease during his marriage to Melinda French Gates.
