TIME Magazine has unveiled its 2026 list of the 100 most influential people in Artificial Intelligence, highlighting individuals who have made a profound impact on the field. Among those recognized are more than ten prominent Indian and Indian-origin leaders, spanning various sectors from corporate leadership to academic research and policy advocacy.
Pioneers in Business and Technology
The list features several top executives driving AI innovation in major tech companies:
- Arvind Krishna, CEO and Chairman of IBM, recognized for his leadership in advancing enterprise AI solutions.
- Sanjay Mehrotra, Chairman, President, and CEO of Micron, noted for his contributions to memory and storage technologies critical for AI infrastructure.
- Ravi Kumar S, CEO of Cognizant, acknowledged for steering the company's focus on AI-driven digital transformation.
Advancing AI Safety and Standards
Ensuring the responsible development of AI is a key focus for:
- Arvind Raman from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), who is instrumental in establishing AI safety standards and robust frameworks for ethical AI development.
Innovators in Indian AI Products
Two leaders are celebrated for tailoring AI solutions to local needs:
- Vivek Raghavan, Co-founder of Sarvam AI, for building AI products specifically designed to cater to Indian languages.
- Utkarsh Saxena, Co-founder and CEO of Adalat AI, for developing AI solutions for India's complex legal system.
Leading Academic Research
The academic sphere also sees significant Indian influence with:
- Anima Anandkumar, a Bren Professor of Computing and Mathematical Sciences, whose work involves pioneering AI for scientific modeling.
- Suchi Saria, Founder and CEO of Bayesian Health and a respected professor, recognized for her contributions to using AI for early disease detection.
Advocates for AI Governance
Shaping the future of AI policy and ethics are:
- Sunny Gandhi, Co-Executive Director of Encode, advocating for responsible AI governance and greater youth participation in policy discussions.
- Meetali Jain, Executive Director of the Tech Justice Law Project, focusing on legal accountability within AI development and deployment.
The TIME100 AI 2026 list was compiled by TIME journalists in collaboration with experts from the AI industry, identifying individuals who best represent the year's significant AI developments and are considered to have the greatest influence on the field's direction.