NeoSapien co- founder says AI Impact Summit theft ‘painful’, hopes India will learn

New Delhi (PTI): After sparking a social media buzz over stolen exhibits at the AI Impact Summit, homegrown wearables startup NeoSapien Co-founder and CEO Dhananjay Yadav believes India will learn from the incident and improve.

While supporting the event as a positive step, Yadav told PTI Videos that the theft of his products was "difficult and painful," noting it occurred during a security shutdown for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit.

With replacements for the stolen exhibits yet to arrive, Yadav depended on his personal wearable device to showcase the company's innovation using AI on the second day of the summit.

What happened yesterday, "for me was a little difficult and painful", he said, adding that the theft happened despite assurance from the security team that other exhibitors were also leaving their valuable items.

Initially, one security team had allowed him to stay back after his request, he said, adding, "We have built a patented tech, which is India's first AI wearable. I wanted to showcase myself."

However, another security team later on asked him to vacate as the area needed to be "sanitised", Yadav recollected.

When exhibitors were allowed to enter halls around 6.30pm, Yadav said, "I asked one of the volunteers to keep the device with him, but when the gates were opened, and he came to our booth, he found that our devices were ripped off and taken away, which was a little disheartening."

When asked what message the incident sends out to the world when India is hosting such a mega global event, he said, "We are going to learn from this. This is the first of its kind event (in India). So we're going to learn from it and get better at it."

He further said, "The second day has been phenomenal. (I am) amazed at the footfalls, the kind of people who are coming. I think we are going to learn from it and get better at it."

Yadav pointed out that the Delhi Police have been very helpful and proactive regarding the case.

"I am thankful to them. I think they would be able to figure out why did this happen, how did this happen. I have complete trust in them. I had a great experience with them," he added.

On the value of the stolen exhibits, Yadav said, rather than the value of the products, it is the complete effort and time made to participate in the summit, from booking flights, hotels and logistics.

"Devices cost Rs 12, 000, but it is about the effort we have put in... everything you prepare for this event," he lamented.

Asked what his expectations were while coming to attend the summit, he said, "I was really excited about the AI Impact Summit because I really believed that this is a step in the right direction."

He further said, "We need more such events in the ecosystem because I think we have the most amazing engineering talent which needs to be showcased, and we can build the most cutting-edge AI."