At threshold of AGI, India set to be global AI powerhouse: DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis at India AI Impact Summit
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The world is standing at a “threshold moment” in the development of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), with systems capable of matching or exceeding human cognitive abilities now on the horizon, Demis Hassabis, CEO and Co-Founder of Google DeepMind, said at the India AI Impact Summit 2026.
Addressing the gathering at Bharat Mandapam, Hassabis said advances in AI over the past decade have been rapid and transformative. He expressed confidence that India will emerge as a global powerhouse in artificial intelligence, driven by its vast talent base, growing digital infrastructure and vibrant startup ecosystem.
Hassabis also visited IISC, Bengaluru on Wednesday and interacted with the students and faculty regarding AI.
Hassabis on Wednesday at the summit said that although foundation models are powerful tools for scientific assistance and specialised problem-solving, they lack creativity and judgment — qualities that distinguish great scientists from good ones. “What separates good scientists from great scientists is creativity and taste,” he observed.
India would play a pivotal role in shaping the opportunities
Echoing the sense of both opportunity and urgency, Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, said India would play a pivotal role in shaping the opportunities and risks arising from increasingly powerful AI systems. He described the pace of AI progress as exponential and warned that models could surpass the cognitive abilities of most humans in many domains within a few years. Alongside the promise of breakthroughs in health and productivity, he cautioned about risks including misuse and economic disruption.
"Design in India” and “deliver to the world", says PM Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his inaugural address, urged global technology leaders to “design in India” and “deliver to the world.” He said India sees immense potential in AI and is building a resilient ecosystem spanning semiconductors, chip manufacturing, secure data centres and a strong IT backbone.
“We have talent, energy capacity and policy clarity,” Modi said, adding that India’s diversity, demography and democracy make it an ideal testing ground for scalable AI solutions. “The AI model that succeeds in India can be deployed globally.”
The summit underscored India’s growing ambition to position itself at the forefront of the AI revolution, balancing innovation with responsible governance as the world moves closer to the age of AGI.