E-Paper
Bengaluru founder’s product stolen at Delhi AI summit, he calls it ‘shocking’
A Bengaluru-based entrepreneur has alleged that his product was stolen from his company’s stall at the India AI Impact Summit in Delhi.
A Bengaluru-based entrepreneur has alleged that his product was stolen from his company’s stall at the India AI Impact Summit in Delhi. Dhananjay Yadav, the co-founder and CEO of NeoSapien, claimed that the theft occurred when all attendees were asked to vacate their booths for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit.
He called the incident shocking, questioning how his company’s AI wearable could have been stolen when only security personnel had access to the expo area.
Yadav is the co-founder and CEO of NeoSapien, the company behind a wearable AI device that is capable of tracking conversations and analysing emotions.
‘Shocking’ Day 1 at AI Summit
“Day 1 of the AI Impact Summit turned out to be a pain for us,” Dhananjay Yadav declared in an X post.
Yadav said he was genuinely excited to be at the summit — the first of its kind to be hosted in India. “I wanted to show up personally to support the ecosystem and the government’s push. But what happened next was shocking,” he said.
The AI Impact Summit, taking place at Bharat Mandapam, is one of the most high-profile events to be hosted in India this year. The five-day summit, inaugurated by PM Modi on February 16, will bring some of the world’s biggest names to Delhi. The attendees include Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, and many others.
For Yadav, however, the AI summit turned out to be a disappointment after his AI wearable was stolen. He described how the theft occurred in his X post.
Security clears AI summit area
According to Yadav, at 12 noon on Day 1 of the summit, security personnel began clearing the area to prepare for PM Modi’s visit. “At 12 noon, security personnel arrived to sanitise and cordon off the area ahead of the visit by PM Modi visit at 2pm,” Yadav said.
The CEO of NeoSapien explained to security personnel that his company had created India’s first patented AI wearable and requested a chance to showcase it.
One officer told the others to let Yadav stay. However, another group of security personnel arrived and ordered them to clear the area immediately. “Seemed like there was lack of co-ordination between the security itself,” Yadav said.
(Also read: Bengaluru CEO travelling to AI summit says cab driver refused AC, demanded extra fare)
How the AI devices were stolen
Yadav specifically asked whether he should take the AI wearables with him. He was told that other founders were leaving even their laptops behind, and that security would take care of it.
Trusting their word, Yadav left the wearables behind. “Trusting them, I left. Hoping that the wearables will be safe, and If I am lucky, it might catch the eye of PM Modi,” he admitted.
However, gates to the summit area were closed for six hours — much longer than anyone expected. When Yadav finally returned to his booth, he was shocked to see that the NeoSapien wearables had been stolen.
He shared photos showing empty boxes littering the booth.
“Think about this: We paid for flights, accommodation, logistics and even the booth. Only to see our wearables disappear inside a high-security zone,” he wrote.
“If only security and official entourage had access, how did this happen? This is extremely disappointing,” Yadav concluded.
