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After MoU with AI startup came under scrutiny, a clarification from UP CM
he initial post from the CM’s X handle on Monday had highlighted the scale and ambition of the proposed investment
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath speaks during the inauguration of Invest Friend 3.0 and the Uttar Pradesh Private Business Park Development Policy 2025, in Lucknow on Tuesday. (ANI Photo)
A day after a social media post on Uttar Pradesh’s Rs 25,000 crore Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Puch AI raised some questions, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath issued a clarification, emphasising that the agreement is only a preliminary step and not a final commitment.
The initial post from the CM’s X handle on Monday had highlighted the scale and ambition of the proposed investment, stating: “New Uttar Pradesh is embracing the power of Artificial Intelligence. A Rs 25,000 Crore MoU with Puch AI will bring AI Parks, large-scale data center infrastructure, AI Commons, and an AI University to the state.”
“This initiative will strengthen governance, drive innovation, and create future-ready opportunities for our youth,” it added.
Users on X were quick to add a community note to the post, questioning the startup’s capacity, noting its relatively small scale, and raising concerns about its execution capability. “Puch AI is a 1-year-old startup with revenue of less than 50 lakh/year. They have no real capability or capacity to execute an MOU of this scale,” the note claimed.
On Tuesday, the CM’s X handle issued a clarification that read: “An MoU by Invest UP is a preliminary step before detailed due diligence and project evaluation gets done. The MoU with Puch AI is similarly an initiation of the process by Invest UP to explore potential in the AI sector.”
“MoUs are non-binding on the State Government. Any further progress, including any Government permission, approval or license, is subject to detailed evaluation of the prospective investor’s proposal. Any prospective investor falling short of the above will automatically have their MoU terminated,” it read. “Uttar Pradesh remains committed to transparent, responsible, and future-focused development.”
Siddharth Bharia, the co-founder of Puch AI, which describes itself as “India’s first AI assistant”, also posted on Tuesday evening: “The MoU signed with the UP Government is structured as a public-private partnership. It does not involve any cost to the taxpayers of Uttar Pradesh. On the contrary, it brings investment into the state. The project will be executed in phases, with support from external investment partners.”
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On claims that their “revenue is Rs 42.9 lakh,” he wrote, “No. This is a bug in Google’s AI, which has confused Puch AI with another company called Pucho AI. The Rs 42.9 lakh revenue figure belongs to Pucho AI, not Puch AI. Puch AI’s revenue is not public… But, if you’re curious, we’re not bootstrapped. We’re a well-funded startup.”
Earlier this year, on January 12, Bhatia had met the CM in Lucknow, where the former termed AI the “next big thing” and lauded the state government’s “focused vision” in this direction.
Speaking to The Indian Express, a senior officer at Invest UP said, “Merely a digital intent MoU was signed with the firm yesterday, which is a very preliminary stage and can be done by anyone. These intents are verified, detailed project reports are sought, the worth of the interested party is assessed, and only then is it taken up further. In this case, it is just a digitally signed intent and not any commitment, which comes much later.”
Sources said that the MoU was digitally signed on Monday, following which the development was shared through the CM’s social media handle.
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