‘Such a humble man’: Sundar Pichai smiles and waves as crowd chants his name at AI summit

Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai’s recent visit to the India AI Impact Summit 2026 in New Delhi has sparked widespread attention online after a video captured a warm interaction between the tech leader and a crowd of admirers.Sundar Pichai acknowledged crowd calling his name at a Delhi summit. (Instagram/.prahlad_jha.)The clip, shared on Instagram a user named Priyanshu, shows Pichai walking alongside officials at the summit venue when people gathered near began calling out his name, chanting “Sundar”. Noticing the cheers, Pichai turns towards the crowd, smiles and waves back, acknowledging them with a brief yet friendly gesture.Watch the clip here:The video quickly gained traction on social media, with viewers praising the CEO’s grounded demeanour. The clip was shared with a caption that read: “Such a humble man he is”, reflecting the sentiment echoed many users in the comments section.Keynote speech recalls student memoriesEarlier in the day, Pichai delivered a keynote address at Bharat Mandapam, where he reflected on his early years as a student travelling across India. Recalling journeys on the Coromandel Express from Chennai to IIT Kharagpur, he spoke about witnessing a different era of the country’s technological and economic landscape.He also remembered a quieter Visakhapatnam, describing it as a city filled with untapped potential. Drawing a parallel between those memories and present-day India’s rapid digital transformation, Pichai emphasised the country’s growing influence in global innovation and artificial intelligence.Google announces major AI investmentDuring his address, Pichai announced that Google will establish a full stack AI hub in Visakhapatnam as part of a $15 billion infrastructure investment in India. The upcoming facility is expected to include gigawatt scale compute capacity along with a new international subsea cable gateway.According to the announcement, the project aims to position the coastal city as a global artificial intelligence node while strengthening India’s role in the international technology ecosystem.Summit focuses on global collaborationThe India AI Impact Summit 2026, being held from February 16 to 20, has brought together policymakers, technology leaders, researchers and industry stakeholders from across the world. The five day event centres on harnessing artificial intelligence for shared global growth under three key pillars: People, Planet and Progress.