NEW DELHI: Microsoft founder Bill Gates on Thursday pulled out of delivering his keynote address at the AI Impact Summit to ensure that the focus remains on the event.In a post on X, the Gates Foundation said the organisation will be represented by Ankur Vora, who is president of the Africa and India offices.“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 will be represented by Ankur Vora, President of Africa and India Offices, who will speak later today at the Summit,” the Gates Foundation said.“The Gates Foundation remains fully committed to our work in India to advance our shared health and development goals,” it added.Gates was featured among the tech moguls, industry leaders, policymakers, founders, and technologists listed as speakers on the official website of the AI Impact Summit, underway in the national capital from February 16–20.The clarification comes against the backdrop of recent online discussions referencing documents linked to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who died in prison in 2019. Gates’s name appears in portions of documents released by the US Justice Department. In one note cited in the material, Epstein allegedly claimed he had helped Gates obtain drugs “to deal with consequences of sex with Russian girls.” Gates has categorically denied the allegations. In an interview with Nine News, he described them as “absolutely absurd and completely false.”In a separate NPR interview, Melinda French Gates said her former husband’s meetings with Epstein were among the factors that contributed to the end of their 27-year marriage.Earlier, government sources had said that Gates would attend the meeting. However, a spokesperson for his foundation contradicted this, saying, “Bill Gates is attending the AI Impact Summit. He will be delivering his keynote as scheduled.”The summit website on Tuesday, however, did not show his name among the key speakers.
