TL;DR

India is hosting more than 100 countries at its AI Impact Summit in New Delhi, seeking a “Delhi Declaration” that shifts the global AI conversation from risk regulation to practical applications. The summit has attracted leaders from OpenAI, Google, Anthropic, and Microsoft, though questions remain about India’s own domestic AI readiness.

Summit shifts focus from risk to application

The AI Impact Summit, which began on Monday, represents a deliberate shift in framing from previous international AI gatherings. Where earlier summits, including the UK’s Bletchley Park event, centred on risks and regulatory frameworks, India wants the Delhi Declaration to focus on using AI to solve real-world problems.

Attendees include the leaders of France, Brazil, Spain, Switzerland, and the Netherlands, alongside tech executives Sam Altman of OpenAI, Sundar Pichai of Google, Dario Amodei of Anthropic, and Microsoft president Brad Smith. Nvidia’s Jensen Huang was a last-minute dropout.

The summit is a diplomatic success for India’s positioning as a leader in the global south, with roughly 250,000 visitors expected across the week.

Questions over domestic readiness

Despite India’s convening power, its domestic AI capabilities lag behind the US and China. India’s spending on research and development has slipped below 0.7% of GDP, compared with China’s 2.5% and the US’s 3.5%. Much of India’s R&D allocation goes to defence, leaving limited funds for civilian technology.

The private sector has been slow to invest in frontier AI. As recently as last year, some senior industry figures dismissed the AI surge as “chip-driven hype.” While there are promising efforts in regional-language AI systems, India remains well behind in foundational model development and semiconductor capability.

“Convening is not the same as competing,” the FT’s India Business Briefing observed.

Looking forward

For the UK AI sector, the Delhi summit signals a broader shift in international AI governance towards practical applications over regulation. The outcome could influence how countries balance innovation incentives with safety frameworks, and whether developing economies pursue their own AI strategies or remain dependent on US and Chinese technology ecosystems.