AI Summit 2026: Sam Altman hails India as global AI leader, predicts "new and better" jobs

New Delhi [India], February 19 (ANI): Highlighting India's pivotal role in the global technological landscape, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman on Thursday stated that the country is currently leading the world in AI adoption and is poised to become one of the largest markets for the technology.
He said that India is not just participating in the Artificial Intelligence revolution but leading it.
Speaking to ANI at the India AI Impact Summit 2026 in New Delhi, Altman expressed his optimism regarding the nation's digital trajectory, noting that the work happening within India's tech ecosystem is "amazing" and currently setting a global pace. He identified India as a primary driver of future innovation, suggesting the nation will wield a "huge amount of influence" over how the technology evolves globally.
Addressing persistent concerns over automation, Altman acknowledged that while AI will definitely impact the job market, he remains confident in human adaptability. He emphasized that throughout history, technological shifts have consistently led to the discovery of new, more meaningful work.
"It (AI) will definitely impact the job market, but we always find new things to do, and I have no doubt we will find lots of better ones this time," Altman stated.
Incidentally, OpenAI has seen its second-largest user base emerge from India. The company opened its first office in New Delhi last year
"It is amazing to be here, obviously the work happening in India and the adoption of AI is leading the world, and I can't wait to see what goes next," Altman told ANI.
Meanwhile, on the sidelines of the summit, the Tata Group, Tata Consultancy Services and OpenAI announced a multi-dimensional strategic partnership, that will drive AI-powered innovation across enterprise, consumer, and social sectors. This partnership spans multiple high-impact areas, including powering AI-led innovation across Tata Group companies, joint efforts to drive AI transformation across industries globally, and setting up AI infrastructure.
Building industry-specific Agentic AI solutions: Under this partnership, OpenAI, with its leading Agentic AI solutions, and TCS, with its contextual knowledge of industries and deep AI skills, will come together to build impactful industry-specific solutions.
Through this collaboration, TCS will help its customers accelerate AI-led transformation by deploying, integrating, and scaling OpenAI's advanced AI platforms worldwide. (ANI)