Applications for Tech30 2026, YourStory's flagship program that highlights the most promising early-stage startups in India, have officially opened. Every year, Tech30 selects thirty early-stage startups developing breakthrough technologies in India.
The 2026 cohort will be featured at TechSparks 2026—YourStory's premier technology summit, which will take place in Bengaluru from October 13 to 15. This year's theme is 'The New Technological Order,' reflecting the transition of India's deep tech sector from initial potential to real global impact. Tech30 continues to serve as a key platform for identifying the founders driving this transition.
Over many years, Tech30 has established itself as one of the most closely tracked startup lists in India. Its alumni include companies such as Freshworks, Chargebee, Juspay, Innovaccer, Capillary, Skyroot, Pixxel, Qure.ai, Addverb, Hasura, Digantara, Apna, Onsurity, and DeepSource. Collectively, previous Tech30 cohorts have contributed to the creation of two IPO companies, five unicorns, nine 'superunicorns,' and 45 'minicorns.' These companies have created over 35,000 jobs across 53 different locations.
Even more telling is the longevity of these companies: nearly two-thirds of all Tech30 alumni (64.3%) remain actively operating, demonstrating the program's ability to identify companies with long-term potential.
The thirty startups selected for Tech30 2026 will receive a dedicated exhibition booth at TechSparks 2026. This will allow them to showcase their products to investors, corporations, founders, operators, and the wider startup community over the three days of the event. Furthermore, inclusion in the list means the startups will be alongside a cohort that consistently identifies companies long before they become widely known.
Tech30 2026 seeks early-stage startups in deep technology that solve complex and defensible problems. The program is open to startups operating in various sectors, including space and defense, drones and unmanned systems, robotics and autonomous systems, artificial intelligence, advanced materials, and next-generation communications.
This year, the program places increased emphasis on startups operating outside major urban centers in India. Founders from Tier 2 cities and emerging startup hubs are strongly encouraged to apply, reflecting the growing depth of innovation across the country.
Applications undergo a two-stage evaluation process. Startups are assessed based on the strength and defensibility of their technology, the significance of the problem they solve, the capabilities of the founding team, product maturity, market opportunities, scalability, and overall business viability. The goal of the process is simple: to find 30 startups with the potential to shape the next phase of India's deep tech ecosystem.
Applications for Tech30 2026 are open and close on August 24. Founders can submit their applications through the Tech30 2026 registration form. For those building a deep tech startup in India, this is a chance to become part of one of the country's most sought-after early-stage startup cohorts.
Global technology giant Google announced on Wednesday the selection of twenty Indian startups to participate in the Google for Startups Accelerator 2026 program. This event marks the tenth anniversary of the company's accelerator programs.
The selected cohort was chosen from a total pool of about 2500 applications. The program focuses on startups specializing in artificial intelligence across various sectors, including healthcare, agriculture, finance, climate, cybersecurity, and enterprise software.
Among the selected companies are Adalat AI (legal), Aikenist (healthcare), Aurassure (climate), Ayna (fashion), Binocs (finance), CraftifAI (developer tools), Dodo Payments (finance), FlexifyMe (healthcare), Fitsol (climate), H2Loop AI (developer tools), Jidoka (manufacturing), CreateOS by NodeOps (developer tools), OnFinanceAI (finance), Pipeshift (developer tools), PotpieAI (developer tools), Proxgy (wearables), Soundverse AI (media), SuperBryn (voice AI), TartanHQ (developer tools), and Zeron (cybersecurity).
The three-month program will provide founders with access to Google's AI stack, as well as technical consulting and help in bringing their product to market. The goal of this collaboration is to help startups overcome initial hurdles and move towards scaling both domestically and internationally.
The latest cohort underscores how dominant AI has become in the country's startup ecosystem. Preeti Lobana, Vice President and Country Manager for Google India, noted that the Indian startup ecosystem is entering a new phase of development, focused on agentic workflows and physical AI systems designed to solve complex real-world problems.
Lobana added that, marking a decade of Google Accelerator programs, the 2026 Indian cohort represents the vanguard of this technological shift. By providing these innovative founders with the full Google AI stack and deep technical mentorship, the company not only accelerates their path to global corporate scale but also strengthens the sovereign capabilities necessary to advance the India AI Mission and build a sustainable, inclusive digital economy.
YourStory presents a daily roundup of the latest events across various sectors, highlighting fresh developments in the startup world.
Mom's Belief, founded by Nitin Bindlish, is a commercial social enterprise that provides intervention plans for children with neurodevelopmental disorders. Bindlish created this organization after observing the fragmented nature of autism support and the lack of quality, accessible therapy. The goal is to provide multidisciplinary interventions through its own centers, online programs, and partnerships with preschools, making specialized support accessible to families across India.
A central element of Mom's Belief is the parent-as-therapist model. This model equips parents with the knowledge and skills to actively support their child's development outside of therapy sessions. Through structured training, at-home learning tools, behavioral coaching, and continuous guidance, parents reinforce life skills during daily routines, ensuring continuity of care and helping children achieve stable developmental progress.
Atomgrid, founded in 2023 by Siddharth Gupta and Lakshit Bansal, is a specialty chemical manufacturing platform focused on research and development. Based in Bengaluru, the company specializes in agrochemicals. After over a year of meetings with manufacturers and clients across India, the founders identified an opportunity to create a technology platform that integrates scientific research, manufacturing partnerships, and global distribution to enter the trillion-dollar specialty chemicals market.
Atomgrid currently operates a 10,000 sq ft R&D center in Bengaluru with a team of 20 scientists and collaborates with about 30 manufacturing partners. The company exports products to Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America. The startup has served over 150 clients, tripled its revenue from FY25 to FY26, and plans to strengthen its presence in international markets before expanding into developed regions like Australia and Europe. In the long term, Atomgrid aims to build global agrochemical brands using its low-asset manufacturing model and in-house R&D capabilities.
Addverb, established in Noida in 2016, develops robotics and warehouse automation solutions for enterprises. Over the last decade, the company has grown from a team of five to an organization with over 1000 employees, serving more than 300 clients in 25 countries. It manages production facilities in Noida and Greater Noida and is evolving in parallel with India's rapidly growing warehouse automation industry.
Initially focusing on the retail and e-commerce sectors, Addverb later diversified to include industries such as petrochemicals, electronics, FMCG, and new energy. Its portfolio expanded from warehouse automation systems to automated guided vehicles, autonomous mobile robots, and humanoid robots powered by Physical AI. The company now derives about half of its revenue from international markets and aims to become one of the top five global robotics companies by expanding its presence to 100 countries.
Dovetail Capital raised ₹100 crore in a Series A funding round. Dovetail Capital, an independent asset management firm providing fund management, regulatory compliance, and investment infrastructure to institutional investors, secured ₹100 crore in a Series A round. The round was led by the growth investment firm Elev8 Venture Partners.
This round, which included primary and secondary investments, marks the first institutional funding attraction for the Mumbai-based company since its establishment in 2017. The capital raised will be used to accelerate Dovetail Capital's global expansion amid growing demand for independent financial infrastructure supporting cross-border investors. Dovetail Capital, founded by Dev Sampat, Mahesh Shekdar, and Vivek Singhania, offers services in fund administration, derivatives clearing, third-party fund management, investment advisory, and regulatory compliance.
The insurtech platform InsuranceDekho launched its corporate division, InsuranceDekho for Corporate, marking the company's official entry into the corporate and commercial insurance market in India. The company promoted Ranjit Singh, who previously held the role of Retail Business Head at InsuranceDekho, to CEO of InsuranceDekho for Corporate. Singh brings over 25 years of experience in the insurance industry to this role.
InsuranceDekho for Corporate intends to move beyond the traditional transaction-based brokerage model, acting as a long-term risk management partner for businesses. It will support companies throughout the entire insurance lifecycle—from risk assessment and policy issuance to advisory services, policy endorsements, and claims assistance.
Startup Stairs, a startup incubator recognized by DPIIT and an investor of NSDC International, selected 16 startups for the inaugural cohort of the national startup acceleration program, Startup League 2026. The initiative received over 2000 applications from across India, with the selected startups spanning sectors such as artificial intelligence, mobility, sustainability, logistics, cybersecurity, legal tech, retail innovation, and enterprise solutions.
The selection process involved several stages. Out of more than 2000 applications, 75 startups were shortlisted, and 28 finalists presented their ideas to an ecosystem expert panel. Based on factors such as market potential, scalability, and founder capability, 16 startups were chosen for the initial acceleration cohort.
Razorpay partnered with NPCI Bharat BillPay Limited (NBBL) to launch Banking Connect—a solution designed to modernize the internet banking experience for businesses and consumers. Banking Connect gives businesses access to a wider network of banks through unified integration, eliminating the need for separate connections to each bank. It also simplifies payment operations by optimizing settlements and reconciliation, reducing operational complexity. For consumers, Banking Connect offers a mobile-centric payment path using bank apps, intents, and QR code features, making payments faster and removing the need for repeated internet banking credential entry.
BharatPe rebranded its regulated RBI NBFC, Trillionloans, to BharatPe Capital. This transition strengthens the unique position of the BharatPe Group in the country's financial landscape, as it is the only fintech company with an RBI-registered NBFC license, a strategic stake in Unity Small Finance Bank, and an online payment aggregator license. With a loan book exceeding ₹1,750 crore, annual disbursements of ₹3,500 crore, and a growth trajectory of nearly 30% year-on-year, BharatPe Capital continues to scale rapidly, onboarding nearly half a million new customers annually. BharatPe Capital offers a comprehensive suite of technologically enabled lending solutions in seller financing, SME financing, supply chain finance, embedded finance, and consumer lending. Through a fully digital lending process, the company continues to reduce turnaround times while maintaining strict underwriting and portfolio quality standards.
In the mental health sector, Mindfully Sorted, founded by Sarmista Mazunder, is redefining well-being through immersive retreats and mindful journeys for women. Managed workspace provider Incuspaze attracted 150 crore rupees under the guidance of Bharat Value Fund to strengthen its market presence and prepare for an IPO in FY29. The nutrition-focused startup The Func. Lab received $1.5 million in seed funding from investors, including Nisab Gojedge and Ananda Piramal. The company plans to use the capital to expand distribution and innovate in clean-label products. The luxury commerce startup The Capitalist Ventures raised 10 crore rupees to bolster its position in India's premium lifestyle market. Additionally, the Bengaluru-based edtech startup Lytmus AI gathered 5 crore rupees in a pre-seed round led by Boundless Ventures to enhance its AI-based learning platform.
