Shortly after cutting the ribbon, Prime Minister Modi walked through the expansive exhibition space, stopping frequently at stalls, speaking to founders and asking detailed questions about products and real-world applications. He spent a few minutes with a number of startups, trying to understand how their tools are being deployed on the ground.
Spread over 70,000 square feet, the expo brings together more than 600 startups with global technology companies, research institutions, Union ministries, state governments and international partners. There are more than 300 exhibition setups and live demonstrations, broadly organized around the themes of people, planet and progress.
Thirteen countries – including Australia, Japan, France, Germany and the United Kingdom – have set up national pavilions, underscoring the international interest in AI partnerships.
FULL LOCATIONS, LONG QUEUES
From the early morning of the first day of the summit, the site looked busy. Delegates started lining up before the doors opened, and most sessions throughout the day were running at full capacity. Attendees said the turnout reflected the buzz around AI, even though many of the top global speakers will arrive later this week.
“The sessions are packed. There are long queues and once the halls are full, the doors are closed, causing some hassle for those still waiting outside,” an enthusiastic participant told news agency PTI. “You have to arrive at a session well in advance. You can’t float around from session to session like at other conferences.”
Attendees moving between the halls talked about standing-room-only panels and hallways that turned into networking hubs as people exchanged maps and ideas.
In addition to the conference, major tech companies – from global giants to Indian players – will present their latest work in areas such as generative AI, computing infrastructure and public sector solutions.
WHAT’S ON THE AGENDA
While the expo opened on Monday, the summit will run until February 20 and will gain momentum in the coming days.
An AI compendium will be released on Tuesday documenting case studies from sectors such as healthcare, education, agriculture and energy. Several policy roundtables and sector discussions are also planned.
On Wednesday, a research symposium is expected to bring together academics and scientists to deliberate on AI safety, governance, access to data and computing power, and collaboration across the Global South.
The final part of the summit will shift to leadership-level engagement. More than twenty heads of state and government are expected later this week, including Emmanuel Macron and Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
PM Modi will deliver a speech on Thursday, February 19.
Top industry figures such as Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei and Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis will speak from mid-week.
India is expected to use the platform to push for broader access to AI technologies, a stronger digital public infrastructure and the idea of ​​shared global resources or ‘AI commons’ that countries can learn from.
For now, however, the spotlight remains on the show floor, where young companies are demonstrating how AI is already being used – from healthcare diagnostics and agricultural advice to language tools and citizen services.
With crowds increasing on the first day itself and sessions overflowing, organizers are highlighting how central AI has become to governments, businesses and everyday life.
– Ends
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