All the important news from the ongoing India AI Impact Summit | TechCrunch

TechCrunch

by Ivan Mehta

February 19, 2026

AI-Generated Deep Dive Summary

India is hosting a four-day AI Impact Summit, aimed at attracting global investment and fostering innovation in artificial intelligence. The event, which kicked off this week, has gathered prominent figures from major tech companies, including OpenAI, Anthropic, Nvidia, Microsoft, Google, and Cloudflare, alongside world leaders like Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron. With an expected 250,000 attendees, the summit highlights India's growing role as a hub for AI development and its ambitions to shape the future of the technology. Key updates from the summit include a $1.1 billion allocation by India's government for a state-backed venture capital fund focused on AI and advanced manufacturing startups. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman revealed that India is second only to the U.S. in weekly active ChatGPT users, with Indian students leading global usage of the platform. Meanwhile, Blackstone has acquired a majority stake in Indian AI startup Neysa as part of a $600 million equity funding round, signaling strong investor interest in the country's AI ecosystem. Other notable announcements include AMD partnering with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) to develop AI infrastructure and Anthropic opening its first office in Bengaluru, further solidifying India's position as a key market for global tech companies. The summit also showcased new products and initiatives, such as Sarvam Kaze, a line of smart glasses from Indian AI company Sarvam, designed to bring AI-powered solutions directly to consumers. Additionally, Cohere Labs launched a family of multilingual AI models supporting over 70 languages, with versions tailored for specific regions. These developments highlight India's growing capacity to innovate and commercialize AI technologies. The event also addressed the broader implications of AI for India's economy and workforce. While opportunities for growth and job creation in the AI sector were emphasized, concerns about AI potentially disrupting traditional industries like IT services and BPOs (Business Process Outsourcing) were raised by industry leaders. Vinod Khosla, founder of Khosla Ventures, predicted that these sectors could "almost completely disappear" within five years due to AI advancements

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Originally published on TechCrunch on 2/19/2026