New Delhi, Feb. 17 -- For startups betting big on visibility, the payoff appears hazy. With stalls costing between Rs.15 lakh and Rs.50 lakh for the week and the opening day turning into a near-wipeout, exhibitors at the five-day India AI Impact Summit are questioning the returns on their investment. Concerns have been compounded by tighter restrictions expected in the coming days due to VIP visits and, as several exhibitors put it, the absence of a "target crowd" that could help them showcase their businesses to investors.

"Unstable internet affected live demos, laptops and cameras were restricted at a tech event, and queues ran over an hour," said Pravin Kaushal, director at Mrikal, a data and artificial intelligence (AI) firm exhibiti...