The India AI Impact Summit 2026 in New Delhi has been overshadowed by controversy after a startup founder alleged theft from his exhibition booth and multiple exhibitors were accused of misrepresenting imported AI hardware as indigenous innovation.
Dhananjay Yadav, founder of a Bengaluru-based startup showcasing AI powered wearable devices, said his products went missing during a security lockdown ahead of a scheduled visit by Narendra Modi.
He took to LinkedIn to write:
Day 1 of the India AI Impact Summit 2026 turned into a pain for us.
I came genuinely excited, it was the first time the summit was being hosted in India, and I wanted to show up personally to support the ecosystem and the government’s push.
But what happened next was shocking.
At 12 noon, security personnel arrived to sanitise and cordon off the area ahead of the visit by PM Modi visit at 2pm.
I explained that we’re building India’s first patented AI wearable at NeoSapien and requested a chance to showcase it.
One officer told others to let me stay, and they left.
Then another group came and ordered us to leave immediately. Seemed like there was lack of co-ordination between the security itself.
I asked: “Should we take our wearables?”
They said, others are leaving even laptops behind, security will take care.
Trusting them, I left. Hoping that the wearables will be safe, and If I am lucky, it might catch the eye of PM Modi.
Gates were closed from 12–6pm. Much much longer than expected.
Later we found out that our wearables were stolen.
Think about this: We paid for flights, accommodation, logistics and even the booth. Only to see our wearables disappear inside a high-security zone.
If only security and official entourage had access, how did this happen?
This is extremely disappointing.
He attached the following images as proofs:
A comment on this very post read:
My co-founder, Srijan shared a similar experience. The event was poorly organized and managed.
And then they complain, “Indians are not innovating”.
With international delegates like those from NVIDIA (though CEO Jensen Huang canceled), the optics are disastrous. As Yadav put it, it’s “deeply disappointing,” a sentiment echoing across X threads where participants shared horror stories of misplaced laptops and unattended demos. If “Make in India” includes vanishing acts, perhaps we need an AI detective on site.
It was as if the event was hellbent on making history as being the most controversial event ever. The summit also faced criticism over the display of an AI powered robot dog by multiple exhibitors. After Galgotias University was accused of falsely presenting a Chinese made robot dog as its own creation, Wipro was seen showcasing the same robot at its pavilion. Speaking to Indian media, a Wipro representative introduced the robot dog, named TJ, and highlighted its potential use in disaster response and other hazardous environments.
Subsequent verification showed that the robot was a Unitree Go2 model manufactured in China. Here is a widely-circulated about the falsely shown robot:
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While Wipro did not explicitly claim to have developed the robot, branding on the device had been altered, with Unitree markings removed though identifying features remained visible. Earlier, a video of Galgotias University professor Neha Singh claiming the robot dog Orion was developed in house went viral, before social media users identified it as the same Unitree Go2 model. Following widespread backlash, the university issued a clarification and was later asked to vacate its exhibition space.
People were also quick to point out that they did not miss out on anything innovative if they decided to skip the AI summit. Reddit went ballistic with a list of complaints:
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The five day India AI Impact Summit, being held at Bharat Mandapam from February 16 to 20, has drawn policymakers, technology leaders, startup founders and international delegates. However, the incidents have raised pointed questions about exhibitor verification, security management and oversight at an event positioned as a flagship showcase of India’s AI ambitions.
