Bill Gates Withdraws from AI Summit in India
"After careful consideration, and to ensure the focus remains on the AI Summit's key priorities, Mr. Gates will not be delivering his keynote address," the Gates Foundation said in a statement.
In his place, Ankur Vora, who leads the foundation's Africa and India operations, was tapped to address the gathering later in the day. The foundation moved swiftly to reassure partners, noting it "remains fully committed" to its ongoing health and development initiatives across India.
The withdrawal comes in the wake of a sweeping document release triggered by the US Epstein Files Transparency Act, which has thrust the Microsoft co-founder back into the center of a story he has long sought to distance himself from. Earlier this month, Gates, 70, acknowledged it had been "foolish" to have maintained any association with Epstein, who died in a New York City jail cell in 2019 under circumstances that remain disputed, while facing federal sex trafficking charges.
Epstein had previously pleaded guilty in Florida in 2008 to procuring a minor for prostitution — a resolution widely condemned by critics as a "sweetheart deal."
Speaking to media, Gates flatly denied any personal wrongdoing and insisted he had no connection to Epstein's private island, where allegations of child abuse and human trafficking have been extensively documented.
"It's factually true that I was only at dinners. I never went to the island, I never met any women," Gates said.
He went further, expressing remorse over the association entirely. "It just reminds me that every minute I spent with him, I regret, and I apologize I did that," he added.
The New Delhi summit, inaugurated by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, spans an entire week and has drawn delegations from over 100 nations. Billed as the first major global AI convening hosted in the Global South, the event attracted a constellation of technology heavyweights — including Google CEO Sundar Pichai, OpenAI's Sam Altman, and Anthropic chief Dario Amodei — alongside world leaders such as French President Emmanuel Macron, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
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