New Delhi: Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav questioned the Uttar Pradesh government over its recently announced ₹25,000 crore memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Bengaluru-based startup Puch AI, alleging that the agreement lacks credibility and reflects a pattern of inflated investment claims.
Speaking in Delhi, Yadav raised doubts over the financial and operational capacity of Puch AI, saying the company was established in 2025 and its website was also created the same year, yet it had signed a massive investment MoU within a short span.
He questioned how a newly formed AI startup could commit to such a large investment so quickly and alleged that there could be “behind-the-scenes” involvement from BJP-linked interests.
The Uttar Pradesh government recently signed a preliminary, non-binding MoU worth ₹25,000 crore with Puch AI under its “AI Pradesh” push.
The proposed projects include AI parks, data centres, AI commons infrastructure and related technology ecosystem development in the state. Reports indicate the company was founded in June 2025 by Siddharth Bhatia and Arjit Jain.
Yadav also claimed that the directors of the company do not appear to have the financial track record required for such a large-scale commitment, and said several MoUs signed under the BJP government had earlier failed to translate into visible projects on the ground.
He described the Puch AI agreement as one among many “non-credible” MoUs and said if such deals were genuine, their impact would be visible through industrial development, policy outcomes and implementation on the ground.
The controversy comes amid heightened scrutiny of the state government’s investment announcements, especially after the high-value AI ecosystem deal with Puch AI drew attention over the startup’s recent incorporation and scale of operations.
Share this content: