AI Impact Summit 2026: PM Modi opens day 1 as 600 startups showcase India’s AI ambition

India completed their day one of the AI Impact Summit, 2026 on Monday (February 16, 2026) at the Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi. PM Narendra Modi inaugurated the Summit on Monday visiting various stalls at the venue and spoke with companies as well as startups participating in the expo.  

The expo has over 600 high-potential startups and 13 country pavilions displaying international collaboration in the AI ecosystem.  

The AI Impact Summit along with an expo will continue till February 20. According to the advisory issued, the summit will be open for the general public from February 17.  

In a post on X, PM Narendra Modi said, “The expo gives a glimpse of the extraordinary potential of AI, Indian talent and innovation. Together, we will shape solutions not just for India but for the world!"  

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Inaugurated the India AI Impact Expo 2026 at Bharat Mandapam.

Being here among innovators, researchers and tech enthusiasts gives a glimpse of the extraordinary potential of AI, Indian talent and innovation. Together, we will shape solutions not just for India but for the… pic.twitter.com/G370iXYAXm

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 16, 2026

The Summit opened to packed halls and long queues, setting the tone for what looks like a defining week for artificial intelligence.  

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Here’s a clear look at the 10 biggest developments from the opening day:  

1. Wipro showcases AI-powered medical robotics at Summit

Wipro has made it to health, at the expo the company is showcasing healthcare AI with robotic systems designed for medical procedures.

According to the spokesperson at the Wipro Intelligence, the current setup is for demonstration purposes.

2. Oakley–Meta Vanguard smart glasses: First impressions

Meta and Oakley introduced the Vanguard smart glasses. The glasses combine Oakley’s sporty design language with Meta’s AI assistant capabilities. Early demos showcased hands-free voice queries, live translation, and contextual notifications directly in the user’s field of view.

3. Developers declared the real architects of AI

Software developers are the invisible architects of the AI age, and India stands at the centre of this all, OpenUK CEO Amanda Brock said in an interview with PTI Videos on Monday.

“Everybody goes to a pizza restaurant and talks about the toppings. They don’t talk about the base because the base is standard. But when you take that base away, what you’ve got is a sloppy mess,” she said.

4.Bengaluru’s Sarvam AI challenges global giants at Summit

The Bengaluru-based startup Sarvam AI is emerging as one of the standout Indian exhibitor at the AI Impact Summit, 2026.

Founded in 2023, the homegrown AI firm has gained attention for its model Sarvam Vision, which recently secured top benchmark scores in optical character recognition (OCR), the technology that enables machines to read and interpret text from images and documents.

5. Qualcomm’s OpenArm robot demonstrates Industrial, Defence potential

At the AI Impact Summit 2026 expo, Qualcomm is going beyond chip design to showcase its push into physical AI.

OpenArm robot, powered by Qualcomm’s chipset demonstrates precision control and real-world industrial applications. According to representatives at the booth, the technology is already being explored for use in sectors including manufacturing and defence. He said, with this robot, army can diffuse a bomb remotely.

Union Health Minister J P Nadda on Tuesday (February 17, 2026) is expected to launch two key initiatives at the India AI Summit. These are the Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare for India (SAHI) and the Benchmarking Open Data Platform for Health AI (BODH), PTI reported.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will deliver the inaugural address for the India AI Impact Summit 2026 on Thursday (February 19).