PM Modi to inaugurate India AI Impact Expo 2026; 600 startups, 13 country pavilions to showcase AI at scale

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the India AI Impact Expo 2026 on February 16 at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi, formally opening what is being positioned as India’s largest demonstration of applied Artificial Intelligence (AI) to date.

The five-day Expo, running from February 16 to 20, will be held alongside the India AI Impact Summit and is designed as a national platform where policy intent converges with commercial deployment. Spread across 10 arenas covering more than 70,000 square metres, the event will bring together global technology firms, startups, academia, research institutions, Union Ministries, State Governments, and international partners.

Organisers expect footfall of over 2.5 lakh visitors, including global delegates — a signal of India’s growing relevance in the global AI conversation.

600 startups, real-world deployment in focus

More than 300 curated exhibition pavilions and live demonstrations will be structured around three thematic “chakras” — People, Planet and Progress — reflecting the government’s emphasis on inclusive and sustainable AI-led growth.

Over 600 high-potential startups will participate, many showcasing solutions already deployed at population scale across healthcare, agriculture, education, climate resilience and governance. The focus is expected to shift the narrative from prototypes to production-grade AI systems built for large and diverse markets like India.

In parallel, more than 500 sessions featuring over 3,250 speakers and panellists will deliberate on sectoral transformation, AI infrastructure, skilling, data governance and responsible AI frameworks.

Global partnerships take centre stage

A notable feature of the Expo is the presence of 13 country pavilions, including Australia, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Serbia, Estonia, Tajikistan and African partners. The participation underscores India’s push to anchor cross-border collaboration in AI research, standards, compute capacity and enterprise adoption.

Held alongside the Summit, the Expo reflects New Delhi’s broader strategy under its national AI mission — to move beyond being a back-office technology hub and emerge as a builder of scalable AI platforms for both domestic and global markets.