New Delhi, India – Bill Gates has withdrawn from delivering a keynote address at India’s flagship AI Impact Summit, just hours before he was scheduled to speak, as renewed scrutiny over his past association with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein intensifies.
The Microsoft co-founder’s absence comes after the recent release of U.S. Justice Department emails that included communications between Epstein and staff at the Gates Foundation. While Gates has previously said his interactions with Epstein were limited to philanthropy-related discussions and described meeting him as a mistake, the fresh attention appears to have cast a shadow over his participation.
In a statement shared with Okay News, the Gates Foundation said he would not deliver his address “to ensure the focus remains on the AI Summit’s key priorities.” The foundation had earlier dismissed speculation about his absence and maintained he would attend. Instead, the foundation’s chief strategy officer and Africa and India head, Ankur Vora, spoke at the event.
Gates’ withdrawal dealt another blow to the high-profile summit in New Delhi, which has already faced organisational criticism and the cancellation of another major speaker, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. The six-day gathering was billed as a landmark AI forum for the Global South, with India aiming to position itself as a key voice in global AI governance.
Despite the controversy, the summit recorded more than $200 billion in AI investment pledges. Among the largest commitments was a $110 billion investment plan by Reliance Industries. India’s Tata Group also announced a partnership agreement with OpenAI for its data centre business.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the summit alongside French President Emmanuel Macron. In his keynote speech, Modi stressed the importance of child safety in AI development, calling for digital spaces to be “child- and family-guided.” The event also saw the launch of the New Delhi Frontier AI Commitments, a set of voluntary principles adopted by major AI firms to promote responsible and inclusive development of advanced AI systems.
However, the summit has been marred by complaints of long queues, traffic disruptions caused by VIP movements, and an incident in which an Indian university was asked to vacate its exhibition stall after presenting a commercially available Chinese-made robotic dog as its own innovation.
Opposition politicians and some attendees criticised the government’s handling of the event, saying poor planning overshadowed its investment successes.
While Gates’ foundation has not explicitly linked his withdrawal to the renewed scrutiny over Epstein, the timing has drawn attention, adding to the challenges facing an event meant to showcase India’s growing ambitions in artificial intelligence.
