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A Bengaluru start-up CEO has alleged that his company's AI wearable was stolen from its stall at the AI Summit in Delhi on Monday. Dhananjay Yadav, co-founder
and CEO of NeoSapien, stated in a X post that the incident happened during a security lockdown ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit at the India AI Impact Summit. Yadav claimed that the wearable vanished after all exhibitors were asked to vacate the venue as security personnel sanitised the area ahead of PM's visit. Calling the incident shocking, he asked how the theft could have taken place when access was restricted.
'Shocking Start To The Summit'
"Day 1 of the AI Impact Summit turned out to be a pain for us," Dhananjay Yadav wrote in the post. "I wanted to show up personally to support the ecosystem and the government's push. But what happened next was shocking," he added.
"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. He added that he told officers that his company had built India's first patented AI wearable and that he requested permission to remain at his stall to demonstrated it.
Yadav stated that while one official initially appeared to allow him to stay, but another team soon arrived and told them to leave. "Seemed like there was lack of co-ordination between the security itself," Yadav said.
Before leaving, Yadav asked whether he should carry the AI wearables with him. He was told that several other founders were leaving even laptops behind and that security would safeguard the area.
"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 wrote.
What followed, he said, was an unexpectedly long shutdown, with the gates to the summit zone sealed for nearly six hours. When he was finally allowed back in, he found his devices all gone. Photographs shared by him showed empty packaging scattered across 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," he added.
Yadav's company has built India's first patented AI wearable - a device that is capable of tracking conversations and analysing emotions.
