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Bengaluru founder stranded outside own booth as crowds swarm India AI Impact Summit: ‘May set up a mini-booth at some Connaught Place cafe’

Touted as the world’s biggest gathering focused on artificial intelligence, the India AI Impact Summit will run till February 20, drawing founders, policymakers and global tech leaders.

3 min readNew DelhiFeb 17, 2026 03:54 PM IST

Bengaluru entrepreneur Maitreya Wagh, who runs AI firm Bolna posted on X that he couldn’t even reach his own company’s stall because of the rush

The India AI Impact Summit opened on Monday at Bharat Mandapam with scenes resembling a concert rather than a tech conference—overflowing halls, long queues and crowds stretching outside the venue. Touted as the world’s biggest gathering focused on artificial intelligence, the summit and expo will run till February 20, drawing founders, policymakers and global tech leaders under one roof.

But for at least one startup founder, the excitement quickly turned ironic.

Bengaluru entrepreneur Maitreya Wagh, who runs AI firm Bolna and studied at IIT Delhi, posted on X that he couldn’t even reach his own company’s stall because of the rush. Alongside a photo of the queues, he wrote: “Gates are closed so could not access my own booth at the AI Summit.”

Leaning into humour, he invited stranded attendees to improvise. “If you’re also stuck outside and wanted to visit the @bolna_dev team, dm me. We may set up a mini-booth at some Connaught Place cafe,” he added.

Check out the post:

Gates are closed so could not access my own booth at the AI Summit. If you’re also stuck outside and wanted to visit the @bolna_dev team, dm me.
We may set up a mini-booth at some Connaught Place cafe 😂 pic.twitter.com/YVIdWagxKM

— Maitreya Wagh (@maitreya_wagh) February 16, 2026

The post quickly circulated online, becoming a snapshot of both the summit’s popularity and the logistical headaches that come with events of this scale.

Social media users joined in with their own experiences and jokes. One person wrote, “I guess CP is a better meetup place at this point than Pragati Maidan.”

Another user commented, “Haha seeing all the AI Summit crowd posts, I’m more worried about how everyone will get cabs/autos later bcoz when I went to an expo at bharat mandapam (Plastindia), we waited nearly an hour for a cab even after we walked almost 2 km away from it.”

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A third person added, “”AI will replace people” taken to another level. Exhibitors too are being replaced by AI. The future is now.”

A fourth individual shared, “Same for me, travelled from gurgaon.. just when I reached I saw everyone walking out.. asked an officer who said due to PM movement the premises is being cleared.. day went for literally nothing.”

The event opens to the public from February 17 and features around 300 pavilions and live demos arranged across three themes—people, planet and progress. Startups, research institutes, government bodies and companies are expected to use the platform to showcase projects and explore partnerships across the global AI ecosystem.

The speaker lineup includes major figures from the tech world such as Sam Altman, Sundar Pichai and Mukesh Ambani, among others.

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