AI Impact Summit secures USD 250 Billion infra pledges, 86 nations sign declaration

New Delhi, Feb 21: The mega AI Impact Summit 2026 in Bharat Mandapam has secured investment commitments of over USD 250 billion in infrastructure alone, as 86 countries and two international organisations signed its declaration.

While terming it a “grand success”, IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, on Saturday, added that the US, UK, Canada, China, Denmark, and Germany are among the signatories.

The strong global backing for the declaration comes at the conclusion of the Summit in New Delhi. The investment pledges have crossed USD 250 billion for infra-related capital and around USD 20 billion on VC/deep tech investments.

Vaishnaw told the press that nations across the world have formalised and upheld principles of "welfare of all, and happiness of all".

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi's human-centric AI vision been accepted by the world. Democratising AI resources so AI facilities, services and technology can reach everyone in society has been accepted by all," the minister said.

Balancing economic growth with social good has been prioritised, he added.

"Not just economic growth, even social harmony has to be kept in mind. Safety and trust are at the centre, they have been brought among the main points," Vaishnaw stated, adding that a secure, trustworthy and robust AI framework has been focused on.

Other major areas of thrust include innovations and development of human capital, he noted.

"For all these areas, all countries have agreed to work together. Almost all countries that participated, including the US, the UK, Canada, China, Denmark, Egypt, Indonesia, and Germany... everyone has participated," the minister said.

Vaishnaw had said participation at the summit crossed 5 lakh visitors, reflecting strong domestic and global engagement with India's AI push.

"More than 5 lakh visitors participated in the exhibition, learnt a lot, and interacted with many experts from around the world. We had practically every major AI player in the world participating in large numbers. We had so many startups getting the opportunity to showcase their work. Overall, the quality of the discussion was phenomenal," he informed.

The India AI Impact Summit brought together global policymakers, industry leaders and technology experts, positioning India as a key player in shaping international AI governance and infrastructure development.

Delhi played host to a lineup of global tech heavyweights this week, including Google's Sundar Pichai, OpenAI's Sam Altman, Microsoft's Brad Smith and Anthropic's Dario Amodei, as discussions spanned most intensely debated global topics in the tech universe, from AI's opportunities and risks, all the way to AGI, governance and the future of jobs.

PTI