New Delhi, February 19 Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates did not deliver the keynote address he was previously scheduled to give at the India AI Impact Summit, his foundation said on Thursday.
While the foundation did not provide any reasons, the decision comes after organizers expressed discomfort at giving Gates a platform after his name appeared in documents related to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Government sources on February 17 stated that an invitation extended to Gates for the Summit, much before the Epstein episode was revealed, has been withdrawn, and he will not be participating in the five-day conference that started on February 16.
On that day, a spokesperson for the Gates Foundation quickly contradicted this, saying he would indeed be participating.
On Thursday, the Gates Foundation said that he will not speak at the summit in order to avoid shifting the focus of the summit.
"The Gates Foundation will be represented by Ankur Vora, President of Africa and India Offices, who will speak later today at the Summit," the Gates Foundation said in a post on X. "After careful consideration, and to ensure that the focus remains on the AI Summit's key priorities, Mr. Gates will not be delivering his keynote address."
The Gates Foundation further stated that it remains fully committed to its work in India to advance shared health and development goals.
Gates was featured among the tech moguls, industry leaders, policymakers, founders, and technologists participating as speakers on the official website of the AI Impact Summit.
Meanwhile, Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Meta's Chief AI Officer Alexandr Wang, Sarvam co-founder Pratyush Kumar, and Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis, among other tech leaders, attended the summit.
On Tuesday morning, his name was removed from the list of key participants. He was listed as a keynote speaker on February 19 – the day all the bigwigs would descend at Bharat Mandapam. He was given a 12-minute speaking slot at 1150 hours.
Government sources had previously stated that Gates would not attend the Summit as his name figures in the files relating to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, and may create some discomfort.
The key participant list was decided months in advance, while the Epstein file revelations have been made in recent weeks.
While Gates has not been accused of wrongdoing by any of Epstein's victims, records released by the US justice department include an allegation by Epstein that Bill Gates caught a sexually transmitted disease.
Gates's spokesperson had previously called the claim "absolutely absurd".
Gates arrived in India on Monday. His first stop during the visit was Vijayawada, where he met Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, Deputy Chief Minister K Pawan Kalyan, and senior state government officials.
Ministers Nara Lokesh, Vangalapudi Anitha, K Archannaidu, and Y Satya Kumar welcomed Gates at the Vijayawada international airport on Monday.
