The India AI Impact Summit 2026, the first global artificial intelligence (AI) summit hosted in the Global South, officially began on Monday at New Delhi’s Bharat Mandapam, welcoming industry leaders from more than 30 countries. However, the opening day was marked by several disruptions.
Day 1 of the summit saw long queues, overcrowding, technological failures, including Wi-Fi disruptions and UPI connectivity issues, organisational lapses, and even allegations of theft. While a founder set up informal rendezvous points outside the venue after being denied access to his own booth, others voiced their disappointment on the social media platform X.
Here’s a look at what went wrong.
Overcrowding and entry chaos
Attendees reported waiting in queues for up to three hours just to enter the venue. Many were asked to sit on the ground due to a lack of seating, while the registration system reportedly crashed multiple times. Some participants who had registered weeks in advance reported being unable to enter.
Unclear instructions further added to the confusion, particularly when parts of the exhibition building were suddenly vacated ahead of security sweeps for high-level arrivals.
Punit Jain, founder of Reskilll, wrote on X, “An AI Summit that sidelines its own builders? 7 am: Queues, 9 am: Entry, 12 pm: Full evacuation. Meanwhile, exhibitors, delegates, and startup founders left outside. No water. No clarity."
"If access was limited to select high-value guests, just say it upfront. Don’t mobilise the ecosystem and then displace it. This is not how we build India’s AI future," he said.
According to Reuters, some journalists spent much of Monday seeking clarity on entry procedures, amid confusion over separate digital QR codes and physical passes. Messages in a WhatsApp group for the event reflected uncertainty over access. Several reporters said the physical passes promised for collection were not ready, while others pointed to the lack of seating and workspaces to file stories or conduct interviews.
Mismanagement and theft allegations
Organisational gaps reportedly prevented some industry leaders from accessing their own booths. Maitreya Wagh, co-founder of AI voice startup Bolna, wrote on X that the gates were closed and he could not access his booth. He suggested setting up a temporary meeting point at a café in Connaught Place.
Dhananjay Yadav, co-founder and CEO of NeoSapien, alleged theft following security arrangements ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit. Yadav said he was told that security would take care of items left behind, including laptops and AI wearables. Trusting the assurance, he left the booth. The gates reportedly remained closed from 12 pm to 6 pm. Later, he alleged that NeoSapien’s AI wearables had been stolen.
“We paid for flights, accommodation, logistics and even the booth, only to see our wearables disappear inside a high-security zone. This is extremely disappointing,” he wrote.
Technological failures at the AI Summit
Several attendees said there was no functioning Wi-Fi at the venue. Food stalls and eateries reportedly shifted to cash-only payments due to the lack of internet connectivity, which also affected UPI transactions.
One attendee posted on X: “The Impact AI Summit in Delhi was a perfect demonstration of why India keeps losing in tech, and I’m tired of pretending it wasn’t a disaster.”
The attendee listed issues, including cash-only payments at a “Digital India” event, exhibitors locked out of stalls, three-hour entry queues, and a speaker lineup dominated by consultants and bureaucrats.
The summit website also reportedly faced glitches. During some sessions, speakers were not clearly visible, nameplates were missing, and audio quality was poor. A few sessions did not begin at their scheduled time as reflected on the website.
What it means
The government positioned the summit, which runs until February 20, as a platform to amplify the voices of developing nations in global AI governance. Several global technology leaders, including Sundar Pichai of Alphabet, Sam Altman of OpenAI, Dario Amodei of Anthropic, and Alexandr Wang of Meta Platforms, are expected to attend in the coming days.
However, the disarray at an event of international stature risks overshadowing the government’s messaging on India’s technological capabilities and its leadership in AI governance.
AI Impact Summit 2026
The India-AI Impact Summit 2026 focuses on moving beyond speeches and promises to real cooperation, clear goals and practical results in global AI governance. The summit aims to ensure that AI supports inclusive growth, social progress and innovation that benefits people and protects the planet. At the same time, it recognises challenges such as job disruption, bias and rising energy use, and calls for measurable action to manage both the benefits and risks of AI.
 "India AI Impact Summit Day 1 marked by overcrowding, organisational lapses")
