Five Indian Americans Named to TIME100 Most Influential People of 2026 Across Tech, Politics and Science

TIME magazine's 2026 TIME100 list of the world's most influential people features five Indian Americans spanning technology, politics, science, and the culinary arts, underscoring the community's remarkable global footprint.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai earned his place in the Titans category for expanding artificial intelligence to billions of users, consolidating Google Brain and DeepMind into a unified force behind Gemini. YouTube CEO Neal Mohan was honored in the Innovators category for steering the platform's explosive growth in streaming, live sports, and creator content, cementing its dominance on television screens across America.

Chef Vikas Khanna, also named an Innovator, was recognized for using food as a vehicle for cultural storytelling and global humanitarian outreach. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani earned a spot in the Leaders category for his grassroots rise to City Hall and bold policies including rent freezes and free public buses.

Rounding out the five, University of Pennsylvania cardiologist Kiran Musunuru was named among the Pioneers for his groundbreaking work in gene editing and cardiovascular genomics.

TIME editor Sam Jacobs noted that influence "has no single metric," a sentiment that perfectly captures this diverse and accomplished group.