Fund My Crazy 2026 by Google Gemini — ₹1 Crore Prize for Indian Students
Google Gemini's Fund My Crazy 2026 is a free student challenge to reimagine one element of your city. Ten winners share a ₹1 crore pool, and no prototype or coding is needed.
- Funding amount
- ₹3L – ₹25L (competition)
- Funding type
- Competition
- Provider
- Google (Corporate)
- Application deadline
- Closed (15 Sept 2026)
- Eligible stage
- Any stage
- Location
- Open to startups registered in India
Overview
Fund My Crazy 2026 is a student innovation contest built around Google's Gemini AI. The brief poses a single question: pick one element of your city and show how you would remake it. Ten winning individuals or teams divide a ₹1 crore prize pool.
The entry bar is deliberately low on credentials and high on imagination. No registered company, no working model, no co-founder and no programming ability are required. What you submit is one concept, expressed through four written answers plus one image generated with Gemini. Submissions opened on 15 August 2026 and close on 15 September 2026 at 11:59 PM IST. Entry is free.
Six themes set the frame: Our Roads & Transportation, Our Community & Living, Our Healthcare, Our Education, Our Markets, and Surprise us for anything that stretches what a city could become. Google's own illustrations of these themes are ambitious — a roadway that generates electricity from its own surface, a neighbourhood producing its own power and treating its own water, a classroom that becomes a forest or another planet. The contest rewards a genuine conceptual leap rather than a polished business case.
The campaign is run by Google India Private Limited, with Communique Marketing Solutions Pvt. Ltd. acting as contest administrator.
Highlights
- ₹1 crore prize pool shared by 10 winners — ₹3 lakh to ₹25 lakh each
- Open to any full-time student at an Indian college, in any discipline
- No company, prototype or coding skill needed
- Free to enter; submissions close 15 September 2026, 11:59 PM IST
- Entry is four written answers plus one Gemini-generated image — keep your prompt screenshots as proof
- Finalists get travel, hotel and meals paid, plus mentorship; you keep your IP and Google takes no equity
Who can apply
This challenge is for students, not companies. To enter you must satisfy all of the following:
- Full-time enrolment at an accredited Indian college or university for the duration of the submission window. Every discipline counts — arts, commerce, law, medicine, design and engineering included.
- At least 18 years old as of 30 July 2026.
- Legal residency in India. International students cannot take part.
- Access to Google Gemini, since the visual you submit has to be produced with it.
You may enter on your own or as part of a team of up to 3 people. Teammates do not have to be from the same college, provided each one is enrolled at an Indian institution. Google may request your student ID or an enrolment certificate, and you are given 5 working days to supply it.
Each person or team gets one entry only, and nothing can be changed after you hit submit.
Not eligible: Google employees and contractors, their immediate family and household members, and anyone previously barred from a Google contest.
Fund My Crazy 2026 by Google Gemini — ₹1 Crore Prize for Indian Students is open to startups at any stage. It is open to startups registered anywhere in India.
- Eligible stage
- Any stage
- Location
- Open to startups registered in India
Deadline & timing
The most recent application window for Fund My Crazy 2026 by Google Gemini — ₹1 Crore Prize for Indian Students closed on 15 Sept 2026. Many programmes run repeat cohorts, so it is worth checking the official site for the next round.
What the funding covers
Ten finalists are paid, and the pool totals ₹1,00,00,000. The structure runs in three tiers:
- Top 3 ideas — ₹20,00,000 to ₹25,00,000 each
- Next 4 ideas — ₹7,00,000 to ₹10,00,000 each
- Final 3 ideas — ₹3,00,000 to ₹5,00,000 each
Judges fix the exact figure inside each tier, judging how ambitious and how buildable the idea is. Google may hand out fewer than ten prizes if too few entries qualify, and the structure is marked subject to change.
Beyond cash, confirmed finalists receive a fully paid trip to the grand finale — round-trip economy air or train fare, hotel stay, local transport and meals — along with mentorship sessions. There is no cash alternative to the travel.
Two practical points. Prize money is paid pre-tax, with roughly 30% TDS applied to winnings above ₹10,000 and a Form 16A issued; a ₹10,00,000 prize works out to about ₹7,00,000 in hand. Payment follows KYC — PAN, bank details, cancelled cheque, ID proof and address proof — and lands within 120 working days of the paperwork being completed. Teams receive the whole amount in the primary contact's account, so settle your split in writing beforehand. Spending the money on your idea is encouraged, but not compulsory, and no reporting is required.
About the provider
Fund My Crazy 2026 by Google Gemini — ₹1 Crore Prize for Indian Students is offered by Google, a corporate programme. It is delivered directly by Google as a competition. You can verify current details and timelines on the provider's official website before applying.
How to apply
- 1Submissions open
- 2Submit your entry
- 3Confirmation email
- 4Compliance screening
- 5Judging
- 6Finalists notified
- 7Grand finale
- 8Prize payout
Applications are submitted on the . Confirm the current deadline and document checklist there before you start.
Selection process
Judging happens across two back-to-back stages on 16–17 September 2026, after submissions close.
Stage 1 — compliance screen. Every entry is measured against Google's content rules first. Anything political, religious, unlawful, hateful, discriminatory or plagiarised is removed before any judge reads the idea. This check is pass/fail, carries no appeal, and happens ahead of scoring.
Stage 2 — panel scoring. Surviving entries are marked out of 100 against five criteria:
- Vision — 30%. A real conceptual leap that reframes how the problem is seen.
- Real-life relevance — 20%. Aimed at an actual community need rather than a hypothetical one.
- Built with Gemini — 20%. Gemini used to brainstorm, design and visualise the idea.
- Future focused — 15%. Anticipating the challenge the city will face next.
- Execution — 15%. A plan someone could realistically fund and build.
The ten highest scorers become finalists and are invited to the finale, where they attend mentorship sessions and may be asked to pitch in person. All ten are paid. Judges recuse themselves from entries originating at their own institutions, scores are never shared, and decisions are final — Google is not obliged to give feedback to entries that miss out.
Finalists learn the outcome by email and have only 24 hours to confirm, so check your inbox and spam folder. The finale's city, date and judging panel are yet to be announced.
Documents you’ll need
Before you apply to Fund My Crazy 2026 by Google Gemini — ₹1 Crore Prize for Indian Students, keep the following documents ready:
- A pitch deck or short business plan describing the problem, product and traction
- Company registration documents and PAN
- Founder identification (PAN / Aadhaar) and brief profiles
- Recent financial statements or projections
- Product details — a demo, prototype or working link if available
Exact requirements are confirmed on the official application portal — treat this as a preparation checklist.
Who this is best for
Fund My Crazy 2026 by Google Gemini — ₹1 Crore Prize for Indian Students is best suited for startups in India seeking non-dilutive funding of ₹3L – ₹25L. If that describes your startup, review the eligibility criteria above before applying.
Frequently asked questions
Who is allowed to enter Fund My Crazy 2026?
Any student enrolled full-time at an accredited Indian college or university during the submission window, from any discipline — engineering and design backgrounds are not required. You must also be 18 or older as of 30 July 2026 and a legal resident of India. Google can ask for your student ID or enrolment certificate, and you get 5 working days to provide it.
What is the closing date?
Submissions close on 15 September 2026 at 11:59 PM IST, having opened on 15 August 2026. There is no mention of an extension, and once you submit you cannot edit your entry.
Does it cost anything to enter?
No. There is no entry fee. The only cost on your side is the time it takes to develop the idea and produce your Gemini image.
How much money can a winner actually receive?
Ten winners divide ₹1 crore. The top 3 take ₹20,00,000 to ₹25,00,000 each, the next 4 take ₹7,00,000 to ₹10,00,000 each, and the last 3 take ₹3,00,000 to ₹5,00,000 each. Within each tier the judges set the final figure, based on how ambitious and how viable the idea is.
Is the prize taxed?
Yes. Roughly 30% TDS applies to winnings above ₹10,000, so a ₹10,00,000 prize would see about ₹3,00,000 deducted, leaving around ₹7,00,000. A Form 16A is issued and the income is yours to report and settle further tax on.
When is the prize money paid out?
After you complete KYC — PAN card, bank account details, cancelled cheque, ID proof and address proof — and sign a prize acceptance agreement. The transfer is made within 120 working days of that documentation being finished.
Do I need coding skills or a working prototype?
Neither. Your submission is a Gemini-made visual plus written answers explaining the idea. No code, no build, no prototype — the quality of the concept is what gets scored.
Can I enter alone, or do I need a team?
Either works. A team may have up to 3 members, and they can come from different Indian colleges as long as each is enrolled. One person is designated the primary contact, represents the team at the finale, and receives the entire prize to distribute — so agree the split before you apply. Team members cannot be added or swapped after the deadline.
Can I send in more than one entry?
No. Only one submission is allowed per person or per team, and it cannot be edited afterwards. Read everything over carefully before you submit.
Must the image be created with Gemini, and do I have to prove it?
Yes to both. The visual has to be made with Google Gemini, and the form asks for evidence of Gemini use — your conversation history and screenshots of your prompts. Using ChatGPT, Midjourney, DALL·E or any other tool leads to immediate disqualification. "Built with Gemini" is worth 20% of your score and one of the four questions asks specifically how Gemini is integrated into your solution, so use it for brainstorming and design as well as the final image. Screenshot your prompts as you go rather than trying to recreate them later.
What exactly does the submission form ask for?
Your name, email, phone number with country code, and your college with city. Then the element you are reimagining, chosen from a dropdown — Roads and Transportation, Our Education, Our Healthcare, Our Community and Living, Our Markets, or Surprise Element. Then four mandatory questions: why this element and why now (the form warns against being general), what your reimagined city looks like and how it works, how Gemini is built into the solution and which prompts you used, and why it matters to people in the future. Finally one image in JPG or PNG under 10 MB. There are no word limits on the live form, and everything must be in English.
Does Google take equity or own my idea?
No equity and no assignment of your intellectual property — ownership stays with you. What you do grant is a worldwide, royalty-free, perpetual and irrevocable non-exclusive licence allowing Google to display, reproduce and adapt your submission for campaign promotion, and to use your name, likeness and college in marketing. That licence outlives the campaign, so read Sections 6 and 11 of the terms if publicity is a concern.
What gets an entry disqualified?
Political, religious, unlawful, hateful or discriminatory content; plagiarism, or an idea already submitted to another contest or previously published; violence, sexual content or defamation; promotion of alcohol, tobacco or drugs; and false or misleading claims. Disqualification can happen at any point, even after winners are named, and there is no appeal. Note that an idea with a neutral surface but a political or religious agenda behind it is still out — you can tackle a social problem, just not frame it in those terms. Criticising your own college is permitted; targeting a community, caste or region is not.
How is my idea scored?
Vision carries the most weight at 30%, followed by real-life relevance at 20% and built with Gemini at 20%. Future focus is 15% and execution is 15%. Legal and policy compliance is assessed separately as a pass/fail gate applied before any scoring.
What happens if I become a finalist?
You are notified by email and must confirm within 24 hours. Google covers round-trip economy air or train travel, hotel accommodation, local transport and meals for the finale, whose city and date have not been announced. Finalists attend mentorship sessions and may be asked to pitch live to the judges. Confirmed finalists are also featured in media coverage across Google's channels, and the travel benefit cannot be exchanged for cash.
Who runs the contest and where do I apply?
Fund My Crazy 2026 is a Google Gemini initiative from Google India Private Limited, administered by Communique Marketing Solutions Pvt. Ltd. Applications go through the form at enter.fundmycrazy.com, which runs to about ten questions and takes roughly 30 minutes if your idea and image are ready. Campaign queries can be sent to hello@fundmycrazy.com. Draft your answers outside the form and paste them in, since you cannot edit anything after submitting.
Is DPIIT recognition required for Fund My Crazy 2026 by Google Gemini — ₹1 Crore Prize for Indian Students?
No. DPIIT (Startup India) recognition is not listed as a mandatory requirement for Fund My Crazy 2026 by Google Gemini — ₹1 Crore Prize for Indian Students, though having it can strengthen your application and unlock other benefits.
Who is eligible to apply for Fund My Crazy 2026 by Google Gemini — ₹1 Crore Prize for Indian Students?
Fund My Crazy 2026 by Google Gemini — ₹1 Crore Prize for Indian Students is open to startups at any stage. It is open to startups registered anywhere in India.
How do I apply for Fund My Crazy 2026 by Google Gemini — ₹1 Crore Prize for Indian Students?
Applications go through 8 stages, starting with Submissions open. Apply through the official application link on this page.
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