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Gates is currently in India and there was speculation over whether he would attend the summit amid a renewed scrutiny of his ties to Epstein
Bill Gates will not deliver his keynote address at the India AI Impact Summit in Delhi, his philanthropic organisation said hours before the Microsoft co-founder was due to speak.
The Gates Foundation said the decision was made after "careful consideration" and "to ensure the focus remains on the [summit's] key priorities", but did not elaborate.
Gates's withdrawal comes amid a controversy over his ties to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein after he was named in new files released by the US Department of Justice in January.
Gates has not been accused of wrongdoing by any of Epstein's victims and the appearance of his name in the files does not imply criminal activity of any kind.
The Gates Foundation said that Ankur Vora, president of its Africa and India offices, would speak at the summit instead of Gates.
The organisation added that it remained "fully committed" to its work in India to advance "shared health and development goals".
His withdrawal is a blow for the summit, which India has pitched as a flagship gathering to position the country as a global AI hub.
However, there are other big names speaking on Thursday, including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei.
In their speeches, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron both called for the democratisation of AI and for a shared approach to innovation.
Modi said there was a need to share technology "so that humans don't just become a data point for AI or remain a raw material for AI".
"AI must become a medium for inclusion and empowerment, particularly for the Global South," he said.
Macron who earlier held bilateral talks with Modi, said there was a need to change the discussion around AI from "let's do more" to "let's do better together".
This was a theme addressed by other speakers as well, including UN chief Antonio Guterres, who stressed that the future of AI should not be "decided by a handful of countries" or left to the "whims of a few billionaires".
Google's CEO Sundai Pichai underscored India's growing role in the AI landscape, adding that his firm was working on establishing a full-stack AI hub in the southern city of Vishakhapatnam, which he said would help bring jobs and cutting-edge AI to Indians.
Billionaire Mukesh Ambani pledged to invest $110bn over the next seven years to build India's AI ecosystem while Anthropic's CEO Dario Amodei said that his firm would like to work with India on "testing and evaluation of models for safety and security risks".
Gates's decision to not speak to the summit came after days of uncertainty over whether he would attend. He is currently in India and had visited the southern state of Andhra Pradesh on Monday, where he reportedly discussed initiatives for boosting health, agriculture, education and technology.
After media reports speculated that he would pull out of the summit, his foundation said on Tuesday that he would deliver the address as scheduled.
The withdrawal is a blow for the summit, which India has pitched as a flagship gathering to position the country as a global AI hub.
The five-day summit features policy discussions, start-up showcases and closed-door meetings on AI governance, infrastructure and innovation.
The event has also seen investment pledges by companies, including Microsoft, to expand AI access and infrastructure in countries such as India.
