The “India AI Impact Summit 2026” held by India at the Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi from February 16 to 20, 2026, was supposed to showcase India’s ambitions in the field of artificial intelligence, but it has become an international laughing stock due to a series of ridiculous incidents. From universities passing off Chinese-made robot dogs as independently developed, to on-site management chaos to exhibitors’ products being stolen, this event, billed as “the first major international AI conference in the global South,” exposed many problems in India’s hosting of large-scale technology events.
Chaos! India India AI Impact Summit 2026 Big Turnover
Robot dog scandal: I bought a Chinese product for 20,000-30,000 yuan, but I changed its name to say it was developed by myself.
The trigger for the incident was a video that went viral on social media. In the video, a female professor from Galgotias University introduces a robot dog named “Orion” to the media at the AI Summit, claiming that it is the result of independent research and development by the school’s “Research Center of Excellence”.
However, sharp-eyed netizens quickly recognized the true identity of this robot dog:Unitree Go2, a consumer-grade robot dog produced by Yushu Technology in Shenzhen, China, sells for about 20,000-30,000 yuan (approximately 2-3 lakh Indian rupees) on Taobao.
Moye Moye China 🔥
Hats off to Galgotias University for the ultimate mic drop on China!
Galgotians bought a cheap Chinese Robot, slapped a new name on it, and claimed it as THEIR OWN breakthrough.#IndiaAIImpactSummit2026 #INDvsPAK #BillGates pic.twitter.com/5tICuz1C25
— তন্ময় l T͞anmoy l (@tanmoyofc) February 17, 2026
Public opinion on the Internet quickly fermented, and netizens left messages saying “Have some shame (do you know what shame)”. In the face of overwhelming criticism, Galgotias University issued a statement to clarify: “Let us be clear: Galgotias did not build this robot dog, and we have never claimed to do so.” However, this statement was immediately slapped in the face by Platform
End result: Galgotias University was asked to vacate the booth immediately.
On-site management disaster: At AI conference, only cash is accepted, laptops are not allowed
The robot dog scandal is just the tip of the iceberg. This event has been chaotic since the first day:
queue nightmare
- Queues start at 7am and admission doesn’t open until 9am
- The entire venue was suddenly cleared at noon to conduct security checks for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit
- Exhibitors and startup founders were kicked out of the venue for hours without water or notice.
ridiculous ban
- Laptops are prohibited:Can’t bring a laptop to an AI tech expo?
- No food allowed
- The network signal in the venue was extremely poor and the demo could not proceed normally.
Horrifying chaos at AI Summit – Turned into PM Modi’s security fortress and photo op
• Main Hall cleared for PM’s visit
• Exhibitors evicted from own paid stalls
• Founders’ products stolen
• Demos failed due to unstable internet
• Hour-long entry queues
• No keys allowed… pic.twitter.com/KS2fgEUGDd— Supriya Shrinate (@SupriyaShrinate) February 17, 2026
Cash only
The most ironic thing is that this event with the theme of “Showcase AI and Digital India”,On-site dining only accepts cash payments. Want to use UPI or credit card? Sorry, you have to “make a lot of noise” to be allowed, and you may not be able to connect to the Internet to complete the payment.
Product theft
Dhananjay Yadav, the founder of wearable AI startup NeoSapiens, complained on X that they spent a lot of money renting a booth, booking flights and accommodation, but the product was stolen in a “high-security control area.” (Later found)
Day 1 of the AI Impact Summit turned to be 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… pic.twitter.com/9gVygparq0
— Dhananjay Yadav (@imDhananjay) February 16, 2026
The speaker was also confused
Some speakers who were to take the stage the next day did not know their time and agenda the night before.
External reaction: “I will never go to India to attend meetings again.”
A participant who has participated in many international conferences in the United States, the Middle East and Southeast Asia put it bluntly: “I have never experienced arrangements as bad as those in India. Every time the Prime Minister attends, the participants are treated as second-class citizens. I no longer attend conferences in India. It is better to fly to the United States, Dubai or Singapore.”
Soumya Sharma, founder of Livo AI, a new medical AI startup, lamented: “Unless we do the basics well, we cannot claim that we are making full use of AI. AI is only part of the system, and we must first solve the basic on-site problems.”
Today’s India AI summit was a disaster, and it was not our AI minds that let us down.
There were many issues, but the most prominent ones are outlined below.
First was crowd management. There were lines so long that you couldn’t see the end at the entry gate itself. While the… pic.twitter.com/fncm1HuuA3
— Soumya Sharma (@SomTheBuilder) February 16, 2026
Official response: Minister apologizes, establishes “war room”
Faced with overwhelming criticism, India’s Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw apologized at a press conference the next day, admitting that “the organization is very slow” and announced the establishment of a “war room” to deal with various reported issues (this approach feels so familiar…). “About 70,000 people have attended the summit. Whatever you have feedback, please let us know. We are working very hard to make the experience enjoyable for everyone,” he said.
point of view
The India AI Impact Summit 2026 farce exposed several issues worth pondering in the country of India besides AI:
- Vanity eager for success:The behavior of Galgotias University reflects the unscrupulousness of some institutions in order to “appear” in large-scale events. They change the names of imported products and dare to claim that they are independently developed. What’s even more frightening is that they almost succeeded: both national television and official government accounts forwarded this “Indian Innovation” news.
- Form over substance:A summit with the theme of “AI” cannot even handle basic digital payments, and the on-site network is so poor that it is impossible to demo. This level of irony is simply black humor.
- VIP priority, exhibitors stand aside:The entire venue was cleared for several hours for the Prime Minister’s visit, leaving the startups and participants who had paid to participate in the exhibition to bask in the sun without water. This kind of prioritization thinking can hardly be called “innovation-based.” Not to mention simple mistakes such as not even allowing laptops to be brought into the venue, and the internet in the venue being unavailable.
India does have the potential to become an AI power. They are the nation with the best mathematics in the world, have a population that surpasses China, have cheap talents, have markets, and have strong government support. But the chaos at this event reminds us:Slogans and summits are not enough, the devil is always in the details。