AI Impact Summit 2026: The India AI Impact Summit and Expo kicked off on Monday at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi, but poor planning sparked criticism on social media. A post by a Bengaluru-based entrepreneur, sharing his firsthand experience from the summit, has since gone viral, drawing widespread attention online.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the five-day India AI Impact Summit 2026 on February 16, one of the country’s most high-profile tech events this year. Hosted under the Government of India’s IndiaAI Mission, the flagship global gathering has attracted leading figures from the tech world, including Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.
The first day of the AI Impact Summit did not go smoothly for NeoSapien, a company developing AI wearable devices that can track conversations. Dhananjay Yadav, co-founder and CEO, claimed his company's products were "stolen" when attendees were asked to vacate their booths for sanitisation ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit.
Yadav recounted the experience in a post that begins, "Day 1 of the AI Impact Summit turned to be a pain for us." He added that he had been excited to attend the summit, which is the first of its kind in India. "I wanted to show up personally to support the ecosystem and the government's push," he said.
Yadav and his team attended the summit to exhibit "India's first patented AI wearable at NeoSapien and requested a chance to showcase it." According to his post, around noon, security "arrived to sanitise and cordon off the area ahead of the visit by PM Modi."
Trusting the security, the team left their laptops and wearables behind at the booth. Yadav explained that he had specifically asked the security about the devices and was told, "others are leaving even laptops behind, security will take care."
He added that the gates remained closed until 6 pm, and when they returned, NeoSapien wearables were gone. Sharing visuals of the booth, he wrote, "Think about this: We paid for flights, accommodation, logistics and even the booth. Only to see our wearables disappear inside a high-security zone." He questioned, "If only security and official entourage had access, how did this happen? This is extremely disappointing."
Other attendees shared the chaos on X. Maitreya Wagh, founder and CEO of Bengaluru-based voice-AI startup Bolna, said he couldn’t access his booth after the gates closed. He tweeted, "Gates are closed, so could not access my own booth at the AI Summit… We may set up a mini-booth at some Connaught Place cafe."
Several other social media posts also reported issues such as lengthy lines, the absence of UPI, closed food stalls, and exhibitors being shut out of their booths.