Bill Gates drops out of AI summit as he faces heat over Epstein files

• Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates canceled an appearance at the India AI Impact Summit.
• He pulled out just hours before he was set to give a keynote address.
• The Gates Foundation said the decision was made to "ensure the focus" remained on the summit's priorities.

Bill Gates pulled out of the India AI Impact Summit on Thursday, just hours before he was due to appear to give a keynote speech.

The Microsoft cofounder's decision to cancel his appearance at the high-profile event follows mounting scrutiny over his ties to Jeffrey Epstein.

"After careful consideration and to ensure the focus remained on the AI Summit's key priorities, Mr. Gates did not deliver the keynote address at the AI Summit," the Gates Foundation said in a statement provided to Business Insider.

The spokesperson added that Ankur Vora, the foundation's chief strategy officer and president of its Africa and India offices, had spoken instead.

"The Gates Foundation remains fully committed to our work in India to advance our shared health and development goals," they added.

Gates's interactions with Epstein have faced scrutiny after the Justice Department released 3 million emails related to the late sex offender. One of the emails, with the subject line "bill," suggested that Gates requested medication for a sexually transmitted disease to give to his now ex-wife, Melinda French Gates.

"These claims are absolutely absurd and completely false," a spokesperson for Gates told Business Insider in a statement earlier this month. "The only thing these documents demonstrate is Epstein's frustration that he did not have an ongoing relationship with Gates and the lengths he would go to entrap and defame."