Bill Gates will not deliver the keynote address at the India AI Impact Summit in New Delhi today, Thursday. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation confirmed the decision this morning, citing the controversy that emerged after Gates’s name appeared in documents linked to Jeffrey Epstein.
The foundation said its Africa and India President, Ankur Vora, will speak at the summit on behalf of the organization.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), the foundation stated that, after careful consideration and to keep attention focused on the summit’s core themes, Gates would not be speaking.
Gates’s name had been removed from the main participants list on Tuesday morning. According to NDTV, government sources indicated that India wished to stand with victims connected to the Epstein case.
However, his name briefly reappeared on the list later that night. Sources said authorities want discussions to remain centered on artificial intelligence rather than controversy.
The summit, which began Monday, is the fourth annual global gathering on AI. Previous editions were held in the United Kingdom (2023), South Korea (2024), and France (2025). This year’s event in India is titled the “India AI Impact Summit” and has drawn more than 500 AI experts, along with heads of state from over 20 countries and around 100 CEOs and founders.
Gates’s Name in Epstein Documents
Documents released last month by the United States Department of Justice mention Gates. Epstein, a convicted sex offender who died in a U.S. jail in 2019, alleged in an unsent email draft that Gates had extramarital relationships.
The draft email claimed Epstein had assisted Gates in arranging meetings and providing medication related to relationships, including encounters with married women.
Gates has expressed regret over his association with Epstein. In an interview with Nine News Australia this month, he said he regretted “every moment” spent with Epstein and apologized.
He described the email as false and said it was never sent, adding that he did not know what Epstein intended.
Gates said they met in 2011 and shared several dinners over three years but insisted he never visited Epstein’s private island or engaged in any relationships with women connected to him.
He added that his primary interest was Epstein’s connections with wealthy individuals who might support global health initiatives, acknowledging that pursuing that route was a mistake.
A spokesperson for the foundation said the documents suggest Epstein was frustrated by his lack of an ongoing relationship with Gates and may have sought to damage his reputation.
