New Delhi: A Bengaluru-based researcher and co-founder of Indilingo sparked a debate about inclusivity at India’s AI flagship after describing his experience at the AI Impact Summit 2026 as “disrespectful” and exclusionary, citing repeated restrictions placed on VIP movement.
Sharing a detailed post on X, Jay Gala said he attended the summit as someone building an AI-focused startup aimed at promoting Indian languages. He said the event, which was positioned as a platform for researchers, founders and builders, ended up leaving many attendees feeling sidelined.
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Gala wrote in his post that he was particularly looking forward to Yann LeCun’s lecture on world models at the Research Symposium at 3:45 p.m., but was unable to attend due to repeated security lockdowns.
“Just got back from the @OfficialINDIAai Impact Summit in Delhi yesterday and honestly, it left a really bad taste. I went as a researcher and someone building an AI startup to promote Indian languages, I’m really looking forward to Yann LeCun’s talk on world models at the research symposium. However, from 15:00 security is blocked for every single movement.” They told us to walk all the way around the compound. I did it like crazy too, sweating for 25 minutes only to get to the hall and hear the exact same thing again, ‘Abhi VIP movement hai, entrance band hai.’ People who have already been there? I also saw them evacuate to make room for VIPs.”
Gala said the breaches were not isolated. He recalled a similar experience earlier in the day when attendees were stopped and forced to turn back near one of the entry gates due to the movement of another VIP.
“And that wasn’t even once. In the morning when I was going from gate 7 to gate 4, near gate 5 everyone stopped, had to turn around 100-150 meters and just stand there for 10-15 minutes for another VIP movement. Both times I felt like a third class citizen at an event that was supposed to be for people like me. I’ve never felt so disrespected at anything from AI.”
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He claimed that while the summit was positioned as a platform for India’s AI ecosystem, experiences on the ground suggested otherwise.
“The whole summit is, sorry, meant for researchers, founders, builders who grind in the field every day. Instead, we are treated as if we don’t matter, we are blocked for hours so that some minister or official can pass through.”
At the same time, Gala acknowledged that the event had its positives, including product launches and interactions with startups.
“And don’t get me wrong. There was a lot of good stuff too, @Sarvam’s launch was golden (much love and respect to them) and I met amazing startups building so many good products at the booths, but overall it felt more like a government PR show to tell the world ‘Look, India is doing AI’ than a real meeting FOR the AI community.”
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He called for a shift in how such events are organized, stressing the need to prioritize builders and researchers over optics.
“We have insanely good AI talent here. If we ever want to be taken seriously on the global stage, we need to drop this VIP nonsense and start respecting the real people doing the work. Don’t treat us like background noise.”
He concluded by saying that the experience made him more cautious about the events he attends in the future.
“The good thing is that I’ve figured out which events to avoid from now on. The only ones worth going to are the ones that actually care about the community. I hope things get better soon!”
The post has since garnered attention online and resonated with several founders and researchers who echoed similar concerns about access, inclusivity and priorities at large tech summits in India.