The US CEO who was invited to attend the AI Impact Summit dinner hosted by PM Modi last night had to skip the event due to traffic chaos.
The US CEO who was invited to attend the AI Impact Summit dinner hosted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi last night was forced to skip the event due to traffic chaos that erupted outside the venue. Sarah Hooker, co-founder and CEO of Adaption Labs, said she waited four hours in traffic to get to a dinner spot, gave up, and eventually returned to her hotel to order room service.
In a post shared on social media platform X, Hooker shared a photo of the Indian food she ordered at her hotel.
Why did Sarah Hooker skip dinner?
On Wednesday, after attending several sessions of the India Artificial Intelligence Impact Summit at Bharat Mandapam, Hooker said, she returned to her hotel to change her clothes. She went from wearing jeans to dressing up for the bash, which Prime Minister Modi hosted at the Bharat Mandapam on Wednesday evening for a number of VIP delegates and tech leaders who descended on Delhi for the mega summit.
Unfortunately, Hooker was never able to return to Bharat Mandapam for dinner, as she was stuck in traffic for four hours before she gave up.
““I was invited to attend the party with the Prime Minister, but I got stuck in traffic while returning to the venue after I changed my party clothes (changed my jeans),” she posted on X.
Eventually, Hooker returned to her hotel and ordered food. “I was honored to attend. But after 4 hours in traffic, I was also honored to sit down and enjoy truly excellent room service at 11 p.m.,” she said.
Chaos outside Bharat Mandapam
The Adaption Labs CEO was not the only victim of the traffic chaos that erupted in central Delhi last night. Many attendees of the AI Summit said they were forced to walk kilometers as the road outside the Bharat Mandapam was closed for VIP movement.
With the nearest metro station closed and taxis prohibited from entering, guests at the summit walked kilometers to book taxis. Many took to social media to complain. (Read also: Roads closed, taxis banned, metro closed: Artificial Intelligence Summit guests walk kilometers)
The VIP movement also led to a long traffic jam near the venue. Some motorcyclists, tired of waiting, were filmed illegally crossing the barrier to escape the crowding.
Sania Jain is Assistant Editor at Hindustan Times Digital. She has nearly a decade of experience covering offbeat stories that speak to everyday experience — from viral videos to human interest versions that spark conversation. Her interests span across business, pop culture, social media trends, entertainment, and world affairs. Before joining Hindustan Times, Sania spent two years with Moneycontrol and five years with NDTV. She holds a BA in English Literature from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi, and a Master’s degree in Journalism from Xavier Institute of Communication, Mumbai. Sanya has a keen eye for spotting emerging trends and searching for newsworthy angles to elevate viral posts into meaningful narratives. She was the first to, for example, cover Narayana Murthy’s remark about 70-hour work weeks that sparked a national conversation. She feels just as comfortable writing about business leaders as she does about the common man, issues of national importance and memes that entertain social media. Sania enjoys speaking with content creators, newsmakers, and entrepreneurs to turn everyday moments into engaging, slice-of-life stories that resonate with readers. When she’s not working, Sanya can be found sitting with a good book. She was born and raised in Lucknow, and has spent the last several years in Delhi. She has a keen interest in animal welfare and now spends a lot of her time running after her destructive orange cat.Read more
