A day after the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation confirmed that Bill Gates would deliver the keynote address at the India AI Impact Summit 2026, the organisation on Thursday withdrew the announcement, stating that the Microsoft co-founder would no longer attend.
Gates, who has recently faced scrutiny over alleged links referenced in the Epstein files, had been scheduled to speak at Bharat Mandapam.
"After careful consideration, and to ensure the focus remains on the AI Summit's key priorities, Mr Gates will not be delivering his keynote address. The Gates Foundation will be represented by Ankur Vora, President of Africa and India Offices, who will speak later today at the Summit.
The Gates Foundation remains fully committed to our work in India to advance our shared health and development goals," the foundation said.
The clarification came amid uncertainty after Bill Gates’ name did not appear on the list of key participants for the six-day summit.
The summit, which began on Monday, is the fourth annual international gathering dedicated to artificial intelligence, following earlier editions hosted in the United Kingdom in 2023, South Korea in 2024 and France in 2025.
The India AI Impact Summit is the largest edition so far and is expected to bring together leaders from more than 20 countries and over 500 global AI experts, including around 100 chief executives and founders.
Bill Gates Epstein files row
Gates was referenced in a tranche of documents related to Jeffrey Epstein that was released by the United States Department of Justice last month.
In a draft email included among the documents, Epstein, a convicted sex offender who died by suicide in a US prison in 2019, alleged that his association with Gates ranged from “helping Bill to get drugs, in order to deal with consequences of sex with russian girls, to facilitating his illicit trysts, with married women.”
Gates has previously said he regrets “every minute” he spent with Epstein.
