Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates pulled out of his scheduled keynote address at India’s flagship Artificial Intelligence (AI) Impact Summit in New Delhi on Thursday, just hours before he was due to take the stage, in a last-minute withdrawal that compounded an already turbulent opening to what India had billed as the Global South’s most ambitious technology gathering.
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation confirmed the decision in a brief statement, saying it was taken “after careful consideration, and to ensure the focus remains on the AI Summit’s key priorities.” The foundation added that Ankur Vora, President of its Africa and India Offices, would deliver the address in Gates’ place.
The withdrawal came after emails referencing Gates were released in documents related to late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, published by the United States Department of Justice in January 2026. The documents prompted opposition figures and commentators in Indian media to question whether Gates’ presence at the summit was appropriate, though all appeared to be proceeding as planned as recently as Tuesday, when the Gates Foundation’s India office confirmed on X that Gates would attend and deliver his keynote as scheduled. Gates has previously acknowledged meeting Epstein on multiple occasions, describing those interactions as a mistake and stating they were limited to philanthropy-related discussions.
The cancellation landed at a particularly sensitive moment for the summit, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated on Thursday morning alongside French President Emmanuel Macron and leading technology executives including OpenAI Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman and Google Chief Executive Officer Sundar Pichai, who met Modi on the sidelines to discuss a strengthened technology partnership between Google and India.
Beyond the Gates withdrawal, the summit faced a series of operational controversies that drew global attention. Exhibition halls were unexpectedly closed to the public without warning, leaving companies that had invested in display stands frustrated and locked out. Roads were sealed for VIP convoys, triggering severe traffic disruptions across central Delhi and forcing attendees to walk long distances due to the absence of shuttle services. Public criticism intensified after Galgotias University was asked to vacate its stall when a staff member presented a commercially available Chinese-made robotic dog as an original invention, sparking embarrassment and online backlash.
The organisational troubles arrived despite the summit’s impressive headline figures. Investment pledges connected to the event exceeded USD 100 billion, including commitments from the Adani Group, Microsoft, and data centre firm Yotta Infrastructure, with the Indian government projecting total commitments could surpass USD 200 billion within two years. Reliance Industries also announced a major data centre expansion plan tied to the summit’s broader AI infrastructure agenda.
The Gates Foundation clarified that Gates’ absence from the summit should not be interpreted as a withdrawal from India-focused initiatives, reiterating its long-term commitment to the country’s development goals, particularly in healthcare, digital governance, nutrition, and education. Gates had earlier in the week visited Andhra Pradesh, where he met Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and inaugurated several development projects supported by the foundation.
Nvidia Chief Executive Officer Jensen Huang also did not attend the summit, becoming the second high-profile absence from a gathering that had positioned itself as a defining statement of India’s readiness to lead global AI governance conversations.
