The ongoing AI Summit in Delhi has garnered significant attention, attracting top global leaders, founders and technology experts from around the world.
Recently, US-based CEO Sarah Hooker, who was in Delhi for the summit, shared a personal memory from her childhood.
While in Delhi, Hooker was amazed when she saw a Bata store, as she did not know it was an international brand.
She shared her excitement on X (formerly Twitter), posting a photo of the store with the caption, “I grew up with Bata shoes in Eswatini and Mozambique. I had no idea it was a global brand.
Amazed by global reach:
The co-founder and CEO of Adaption, based in San Francisco, said she had no idea Bata was a global brand.
Bata, known for its high-quality shoes, was founded in 1894 in Zlin, Czechoslovakia, by Thomas Bata.
Today, Bata operates worldwide through more than 6,000 retail stores and approximately 100,000 independent dealers and franchise partners. Its network includes various retail formats such as City Stores, Family Stores, Angela Stores and AW Lab Stores.
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Check out this post here:
Here’s how people reacted to the post:
X users reacted to the post with nostalgia, with many sharing childhood memories of wearing Bata shoes and reminiscing about how popular the brand was.
“We grew up with Bata shoes – all my school shoes were Bata,” one user commented.
Another user commented, “Sara, 99.99% of people in India don’t know that Bata is not an Indian brand.”
“Bata is so integral to our lives here in India that most people think it is an Indian company,” a third user commented.
“It is one of the most loved brands in India,” another user commented.
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Sharing glimpses of her visit to Delhi, Hooker posted a picture while she was stuck in traffic with the Gateway of India in the background, and captioned it, “Time in traffic in Delhi gives me a chance to discover the Gateway of India.“
She also shared a picture of Parle-G biscuits and captioned, “The most consumed biscuit in the entire world. G represents genius.”
India AI Impact Summit 2026 will be held at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi.
As per an official advisory, the event was opened to the public on February 17 after Narendra Modi inaugurated it on Monday evening.
The summit is described as one of the largest artificial intelligence gatherings in the world, and will continue until February 21, 2026.
