Gates Foundation confirms Bill Gates' attendance at India AI Summit 2026

Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates participation in the worlds biggest AI summit became a topic of speculation on Tuesday following conflicting reportsSources initially stated he would not attend but a spokesperson for the Gates Foundation quickly contradicted to say he is indeed participatingGates featured among the tech moguls industry leaders policymakers founders and technologists participating as speakers on the official website of the AI Impact Summit underway in the national capital from February 16On Tuesday morning his name went missing from the key participants list Government sources said Gates will not be attending the Summit but did not indicate the reason However a spokesperson for his foundation in an emailed response to PTI said Bill Gates is attending the AI Impact Summit He will be delivering his keynote as scheduled He was listed as a keynote speaker on February 19 the day all the bigwigs will descend at Bharat Mandapam He was given a 12minute speaking slot at 1150 hoursUnion Minister for Information amp Broadcasting and Electronics amp Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw who is leading the AI show did not give a direct reply to reporters at a scheduled press conference when asked about Gates participation He however gave reasons for Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang pulling out of the summit at the last moment I forgot like many other things regarding whos attending whos not attending he said in response to questions on the participation of Gates Thats personal choices which people make I need not comment on thatGovernment sources in the morning suggested that Gates will not attend the Summit as his name figures in the files relating to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and may create some discomfortThe key participant list was decided months in advance while the Epstein file revelations have been made in recent weeks While Gates has not been accused of wrongdoing by any of Epsteins victims records released by the US justice department include an allegation by Epstein that Bill Gates caught a sexually transmitted diseaseGatess spokesperson had previously called the claim absolutely absurd Late last week Nvidia said its CEO Jensen Huang would not travel to India to attend the Summit Huang was one of the biggest attractions at the Summit While the company had not given any reason for the move some had linked it to the presence of Gates at the eventAsked about his absence Vaishnaw said Jansen reached out to us and he said that because of something really unavoidable he was very keen to work through But he has deputed a very senior executive to join us He reiterated that some people not attending was their personal choice I would not like to comment on itNvidia he said is also working with some Indian companies I cannot share the names at this point in time for some very large investments in AI They are also working with some software companies for developing many use cases he addedGates arrived in India on Monday His first stop during the visit was Vijayawada where he met Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu Deputy Chief Minister K Pawan Kalyan and senior state government officials Ministers Nara Lokesh Vangalapudi Anitha K Archannaidu and Y Satya Kumar had welcomed Gates at the Vijayawada international airport on MondayThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever