New Delhi: Complaints over poor mobile connectivity, lack of basic amenities and long waiting times dominated the opening day chatter around the AI Impact Summit 2026, even as organisers highlighted packed sessions and record participation at the flagship technology gathering.

Several attendees took to X to flag patchy internet inside Bharat Mandapam, overcrowded halls, restricted movement and hours-long queues, saying the on-ground experience did not match the summit’s ambitious positioning.

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“Brooooooo it’s too crowded here at AI SUMMIT Delhi like you can’t even navigate properly plus other than AI posters there’s nothing AI and future here just another well marketed event,” one user wrote.

Another widely shared post alleged that exhibitors, startup founders and delegates were left waiting outside for hours. “No water. No clarity. Media shows celebration. Ground reality was chaos,” the user wrote, questioning why access limitations were not communicated in advance.

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Connectivity issues drew particular criticism. “Mobile internet is barely working at the India AI Impact Summit,” one attendee said, pointing to the irony of poor network access at a technology-focused event.

Despite the complaints, interest in the summit remained high. Large crowds gathered outside session halls well before the 9.30 am opening, with multiple parallel discussions running at full capacity.

A PTI team on the ground observed long queues at several venues, though sessions themselves were orderly once attendees entered.

“Sessions are packed. There are long queues, and once the halls fill up, doors are closed, which creates some hassle for those still waiting outside,” an enthusiastic participant said. “You have to be there for a session well in advance. One cannot float around from session to session like in other conferences.”

Another attendee said the strong speaker lineup was drawing huge crowds. “There is a lot of buzz around AI.”

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Organisers said registrations had exceeded expectations, reflecting surging interest in AI infrastructure, enterprise adoption and sovereign compute capabilities. More than 3,250 speakers and over 500 sessions are scheduled between February 16 and 20.

The final two days are expected to see participation from global leaders, including Narendra Modi, Emmanuel Macron and Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, alongside technology executives such as Sundar Pichai, Sam Altman and Dario Amodei, whose sessions are scheduled from Wednesday.

An accompanying expo featuring more than 300 exhibitions and 13 country pavilions showcases AI applications across sectors, with participation from major global and Indian technology firms.

India is also expected to use the platform to push for wider access to artificial intelligence for the Global South and propose the idea of a “global AI commons” — a shared repository of use cases for key sectors.

The summit follows earlier editions hosted in the United Kingdom in 2023, which focused on AI safety and extreme risks, and in France in 2025, which emphasised large-scale technology investments.