New Delhi buzzed with excitement on the fourth day of the India AI Impact Summit 2026 as Google CEO Sundar Pichai took a delightful detour from high-tech discussions to savor authentic Indian GI coffee. At the specially set up India GI Coffee Lounge, Pichai sipped on premium Malabar Arabica and exclaimed ‘Wow!’ in sheer delight.
The lounge, established by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), became a highlight of the summit. Pichai not only relished the rich flavors from regions like Araku and Coorg but also chatted with the baristas and posed for group photos. This moment beautifully symbolized the fusion of India’s traditional heritage through Geographical Indication (GI) tagged products, digital payments via UPI, and cutting-edge AI technology.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had inaugurated the summit earlier on Thursday, drawing global leaders, industry titans, and innovators. In his keynote, Pichai praised India’s rapid pace of transformation. He highlighted Google’s ambitious India-US Connect initiative, laying vast undersea fiber optic networks with four new systems to bridge the two nations digitally.
Pichai stressed the need for bold strides in AI, noting its potential to revolutionize billions of lives. He cited how AI has cracked the long-standing challenge of protein structure prediction—a hurdle for drug discovery over the past 50 years. Today, over 3 million researchers in 190 countries use these tools, accelerating vaccines for diseases like malaria.
Announcing a massive $15 billion investment in India, Google aims to build a comprehensive AI hub. The company is deploying AI across healthcare, agriculture, startups, and more, fostering inclusive growth. The summit featured over 300 exhibition pavilions and live demos themed around People, Planet, and Progress. More than 600 emerging startups showcased real-world AI solutions already making an impact.
With over 500 sessions and 3,250 experts, the event delved deep into AI’s transformative effects across sectors. Discussions focused on ensuring technology benefits reach every corner of the globe, marking a pivotal moment for India’s AI leadership on the world stage.