What was supposed to be a landmark for India’s growing AI ecosystem turned into a harrowing experience for a Bengaluru-based founder who claimed his company’s product was stolen from his booth during the high-profile India AI Impact Summit in Delhi.
Dhananjay Yadav, co-founder and CEO of NeoSapien, claimed that the company’s AI wearable disappeared from its booth at the summit venue after exhibitors were asked to leave the area ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit.
“First day of AI Impact Summit turned out to be painful for us,” Yadav wrote in a post on X, calling the incident “shocking”. He questioned how the theft could have happened when, according to him, only security personnel were allowed into the exhibition area at the time.
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Held at the Bharat Mandapam, the India AI Impact Summit is among the most prominent technology events held in the country this year. The five-day summit, which was inaugurated on February 16, attracted global attention with its participants including Sundar Pichai and Sam Altman.
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However, the event took an unexpected turn for Yadav. He said security personnel started clearing the exhibition area around noon on the first day to disinfect the venue ahead of the Prime Minister’s scheduled visit at 2pm. Yadav said he tried to explain that NeoSapien had developed what he described as India’s first proprietary wearable artificial intelligence capable of monitoring conversations and analyzing emotions, and asked for permission to stay briefly to demonstrate it.
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While one officer initially allowed him to stay, Yadav claimed that another security team later instructed everyone to leave immediately, pointing to what he described as a lack of coordination. He said he specifically asked if he should carry wearable devices with him, but was told that even laptops were left behind and that security would ensure the safety of items inside the cabins.
“I trusted them and left,” Yadav wrote, adding that he hoped the product might even catch the Prime Minister’s attention. But he said the showground remained closed for almost six hours – much longer than expected. When access was restored, Yadav claimed AI wearables were missing. He later shared images online showing empty boxes at the NeoSapien booth.
“Think about it: We paid for flights, accommodation, logistics and even a booth. Only to see our wearable disappear in a high security zone,” he wrote. “If only security and official escorts had access, how did this happen? This is extremely disappointing.”
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The incident sparked strong reactions online, with several users urging the founder to file a police complaint and demand accountability from the event’s organizers. Others said the episode raised uncomfortable questions about how safe the big shows are for startups who invest time and money to showcase their innovations.
“We need a civic sense summit instead of an AI summit,” the user wrote.
“You should log in and FIR with @DelhiPolice! This is clearly not what you paid for,” suggested another user on X.
“This really sucks. Even the appliance trade shows here are very subpar. We really need to up our show game,” wrote a third user.
“This is discouraging, there must probably be many more stories like this on the way. Based on your incident it appears this was not an AI summit but rather a move to promote the PM as an AI supporter and enthusiast,” wrote a fourth.
A fifth offered to help: “File a written complaint who is the event management agency, cctv will catch the culprits, stay the course, complain to the event managers, be held accountable. Tag the PMO and every other agency, startups are not to be played with, tag your VC to use their office for high connection and let everyone involved know. Anything else you can inform me, can I have. 2-5?”