After laudatory remarks from OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, showing their appreciation for India’s wide-scale adoption of AI systems and the country’s homegrown tech talent, the AI Summit Expo kicked off on a positive note.
However, an incident involving Galgotias University has brought a lot of shame, humiliation, and condemnation to the country. Reportedly, the university displayed a Chinese-manufactured “robotic dog” and passed it off as its own at the event.
Now, several Indian media agencies are stating that the controversy has led to the university’s ignominious exit, as it has been asked to vacate its stall. There has been mounting online backlash and accusations of misrepresenting imported technology on social media. So, let’s explore how users reacted to the entire fiasco and what the university’s statement is regarding the controversy.
Galgotias University issues statement in defence; “Big-time liars,” says X user
As part of the artificial intelligence and robotics initiatives, the university displayed a robotic dog named “Orion” at the expo, which was actually a China-made Unitree Go2, critics on social media alleged. One X user called it “institutional dishonesty” and “academic fraud” on behalf of the university. Furthermore, he called Galgotias University “big-time” liars for claiming that they “never said it was theirs”.
Galgotias are more shameless than we imagined.
— THE SKIN DOCTOR (@theskindoctor13) February 18, 2026
They paraded a Chinese robo-dog at an Indian AI summit and, when called out, claimed they never said it was theirs. Now another video shows a Galgotias faculty clearly stating it was developed by their "Centre of Excellence."
So… pic.twitter.com/A3FLvvNt3h
Following the controversy on social media, the university issued a statement saying that they never claimed to build the robotic dog. “Let us be clear — Galgotias has not built this robodog, nor have we claimed. But what we are building are minds that will soon design, engineer, and manufacture such technologies right here in Bharat,” the statement read.
— Galgotias University (@GalgotiasGU) February 17, 2026
However, the video accompanying the tweet by the aforementioned X user clearly shows a female professor of the university saying that it was created by their “centre of excellence”.
“This is Orion. You need to meet Orion. This has been developed by the Centre of Excellence in Galgotias University,” the professor can be clearly heard saying in the video.
Meanwhile, the university claimed that the social media meltdown was part of a “propaganda campaign” against the institution, which had a negative influence on the morale of the students.
“Spreading negativity can harm the morale of students, who are working hard to innovate, learn, and build their skills using global technologies,” The statement further read.
The press release further described ORION — short for Operational Robotic Intelligence Node — as a “major crowd puller” at its exposition. It further stated that the robotic system drew “significant attention” during live demonstrations in the presence of delegates.
Outrage rumbles on social media over”institutional dishonesty”
Innovation isn’t about showcasing machines.
— Yash Pratap Singh (@YashPratap6111) February 18, 2026
It’s about owning the work behind them.
If institutions exaggerate claims,
they don’t just damage reputation
they weaken trust in the ecosystem.
Credibility is harder to build than robots.
Shameless ! Shameless ! Shameless. For last 20 years I have been building models to power avionics, self landing and dynamic propulsion and always was proud of the engineering knowledge I got from the great professors in India. And today this lady is calling herself a professor…
— Samar Singh Parihar (@samarknowsit) February 18, 2026
If it wasn’t developed in-house, why was it described as coming from their “Centre of Excellence”?
— Vishal (@learnedquietly) February 18, 2026
Why did clarification come only after backlash?
At a national AI summit, shouldn’t claims of development be precise and verifiable??
If there’s nothing to hide, why is the…
Didn't the AI summit government officials verify all the things being showcased?
— kolkol (@kolkol_oooooo) February 18, 2026
This is another level of incompetence and stupidty and foolishness by Indian government and organizers.
CC: @AshwiniVaishnaw @narendramodi
Galgotias University is a private university in Noida, Uttar Pradesh, established in July 2011, providing undergraduate and graduate programs in engineering, management, law, and the sciences. The university has supported efforts in artificial intelligence and new technologies in recent years. These initiatives include corporate partnerships, AI-focused courses, and student-led innovation projects.
Nevertheless, the controversy cast a shadow over an AI summit that was supposed to celebrate homegrown talent, but instead became a cautionary tale about transparency and credibility.
Also Read: Sam Altman Opens Up About Balancing the Pressure of OpenAI With Family Life
