AI Impact Summit 2026

Global AI Developments – Comprehensive Update (24 Feb 2026)

1. India’s AI Strategy Takes Global Stage at Summit

The India AI Impact Summit 2026, hosted in New Delhi from 16–20 February 2026, has become a major focal point for international AI collaboration and investment. It is the first major summit in the global AI summit series to be held by a Global South nation, bringing together over 20 heads of state, 60 ministers, and tech leaders from companies such as Google, OpenAI, and Anthropic.

At the event:

Nations and firms are pledging large-scale investments into AI infrastructure, data centers, compute and development ecosystems.
India is promoting a “third way” of AI advancement — emphasizing openness and independence from dominant US and Chinese tech ecosystems, with a focus on open-source models and sovereign compute.

2. Massive Investments Pledged at AI Summit

> Reliance Industries & Jio Commit ₹10 Lakh Crore

Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) and its subsidiary Jio announced a ₹10 lakh crore (~$110 billion) investment over the next seven years to establish AI infrastructure, democratize affordable AI services, and build sovereign compute capacity across India. Chairman Mukesh Ambani described the plan as nation-building capital—aimed at ensuring India doesn’t “rent intelligence” from foreign tech powers.

Original article: Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance AI investment plan (Economic Times)

> Tech Majors Join the Funding Wave

According to Reuters:

Adani Group pledged $100 billion for renewable-powered AI data centers through 2035.
Microsoft committed $50 billion by 2030 to expand AI access in the Global South.
Yotta will invest $2 billion to build one of Asia’s largest AI computing hubs with over 20,000 Nvidia GPUs in India.

Source: Tech majors commit billions at AI summit (Reuters)

3. International Partnerships Around AI

India is deepening its collaboration with global partners:

France & India AI in Healthcare: French President Emmanuel Macron inaugurated a 5,000 sq ft Indo-French Centre for AI in Health at AIIMS, New Delhi, aimed at interdisciplinary AI medical research in areas like neuroscience and clinical decision support. France also announced plans to host 30,000 Indian students annually by 2030, with expanded AI and advanced programs.

4. U.S.–China Tensions Over AI Hardware

A senior U.S. official told Reuters that Chinese AI startup DeepSeek trained its latest AI model using Nvidia’s Blackwell chips, potentially breaching strict U.S. export controls that prohibit the sale of the most advanced GPU chips to China. Washington believes the chips are installed at DeepSeek’s data center in Inner Mongolia, and DeepSeek might remove technical markers to conceal their use. China’s embassy called the criticism politicization of technology and trade.

Original report: DeepSeek trained AI on Blackwell chips despite U.S. ban (Reuters via Investing.com)

5. Broader Context in the AI Industry

While AI expands rapidly in both commercial and public sectors:

Experts and policymakers are raising concerns about safety, fairness, and ethical use — including bias and equitable access.
Markets remain sensitive to AI tech announcements, where major model releases and compute breakthroughs can influence stock indices and investor sentiment. (For example, past DeepSeek launches have impacted Nasdaq tech stocks, underscoring broader market reliance on AI narratives and hardware.)

BY,

LIBIN JOHNSON

Technology

AI Impact Summit 2026