OpenAI Partners With Top Indian Institutes At AI Impact Summit 2026 To Support Over 1 Lakh Students

Launched by the government on February 16, AI Impact Summit 2026 has seen global AI firms, policymakers, industry leaders and subject-matter experts gravitate to one place. Through the AI Impact Showcase 2026, it has become an announcement stage for innovation and strategic collaboration. OpenAI, led by Sam Altman, announced a significant education-led effort focused on driving AI proliferation throughout India’s higher education system at the summit held on its third day.

OpenAI Announces New Education Initiative in India

OpenAI Partners With Indian Colleges At the AI Impact Summit 2026, OpenAI announced it had entered into partnership agreements with several Indian colleges. The programme has collaborations with the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences New Delhi, the Manipal Academy of Higher Education (Manipal), the University of Petroleum and Energy Studies (Dehradun) and Pearl Academy.

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Under this initiative, OpenAI will provide AI tools, guidance, and support to more than 100,000 students, faculty members, and staff. The company aims to systematically integrate AI into core academic workflows, offering “enterprise-grade” ChatGPT Edu access, discipline-specific implementation guidance, and responsible-use frameworks.

OpenAI India’s Head of Education, Raghav Gupta, highlighted the gap between AI capabilities and real-world usage. He said, “Education institutions are a critical route to bridge this gap. By embedding AI tools, training, and research into the core infrastructure of schools and universities, they can equip students with the skills needed to thrive in a world with AI.”

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Skills, Certifications, and Ecosystem Access

Students will get accustomed to advanced prompting, analytics, coding and simulations, case analysis and AI-assisted research, while faculty members can upskill themselves. OpenAI will also for the first time sponsor hackathons, as well as research-to-deployment programmes. OpenAI-MIC and MAHE, IIM Ahmedabad will also provide certifications. The firm is partnering with online players like PhysicsWallah, upGrad and HCL GUVI.

OpenAI’s presence at the AI Impact Summit 2026 signals a step closer to the adoption of AI in India’s higher education. Through its collaboration with top businesses and institutions, the effort seeks to provide students and educators with the skills required for future participation and support responsible AI adoption as well as build a better connection between academia’s research capabilities and the startup/enterprise ecosystem in the country.