Startup grants in India

Africa Deep Tech Challenge 2026

A global online deep tech hackathon with a ₹15.35 lakh prize pool, open to Indian teams.

Insight 4.0

Online business strategy competition by Motilal Nehru College, DU, open to all Indian college students. Compete individually or in teams for cash prizes.

Cyber_Coders

A 10-day online hackathon focused on cybersecurity and web development, hosted by Idustries with a $18 prize pool. Open to global participants, runs June 13–22, 2026.

DSH Hacks V1

A global online hackathon by DreamWeave with a $5,096 prize pool, focusing on beginner-friendly projects and social good.

India High School Exoplanet Data Challenge

A data challenge for Indian high school students to analyze exoplanet data — ₹9.58 lakh prize pool.

Hack[AI]thon 2.0

A national-level Data-Centric AI hackathon for Indian students — ₹35,000 prize pool, two rounds, offline finale at Belagavi.

Slack Agent Builder Challenge

Build AI agents on Slack's platform for a chance to win ₹39.06 lakh in prizes — open to global participants including Indian teams.

Zayed Sustainability Prize

A global award recognizing and rewarding innovative, impactful, and inspiring sustainable solutions across Health, Food, Energy, Water, Climate Action, and Global High Schools.

USAII® Global AI Hackathon 2026

A global online AI hackathon by USAII with a $15,000 prize pool — open to participants worldwide, including India.

Defence India Startup Challenge 12 (Re-Open): Development of Inflight Urination Device for Female Fighter Pilots

iDEX DISC 12 offers grants up to ₹1.5 Crore to MSMEs, startups, and innovators for developing an inflight urination device for female fighter pilots, addressing a critical combat requirement by AFMS.

Grizzly Hacks III

Grizzly Hacks III is an online beginner-friendly hackathon with a $40,021 prize pool, focusing on ML/AI and Social Good.

United Hacks V7

A global online hackathon by Hack United, offering a ₹24.5 lakh prize pool for participants of all skill levels to innovate across various themes.

VC Arena – The Apex Investor Challenge

Youth Code x AI

Online hackathon by Youth Code Foundation with $2,700 prize pool for AI, mobile, and web solutions. Beginner-friendly and globally open.

CDSCO-IndiaAI Health Innovation Acceleration Hackathon

A national AI/ML hackathon by IndiaAI and CDSCO to innovate regulatory processes for drugs and medical devices, offering an ₹85 lakh prize pool including a work contract.

Vibe2Ship - India's Biggest Vibe-Coding Hackathon

A national-level online hackathon for students and professionals to build innovative solutions with mentorship from Google experts and a ₹3 Lakh prize pool.

Social Shifters Global Innovation Challenge 2026

Social Shifters Global Innovation Challenge 2026 offers grant funding from ₹2.49L to ₹12.45L for youth-led social ventures with impact evidence. No equity taken.

Astra Defence Tech Expo 2026- Project Competition

A student-driven defence and technology project competition by BMSIT&M, Bengaluru, featuring a ₹50,000 cash prize pool and certificates.

H0: Hack the Zero Stack with Vercel v0 and AWS Databases

A global online hackathon by Amazon to build with Vercel v0 and AWS Databases — $80,000 prize pool.

Excelium-SINE DeepTech Innovation Grant Program

Grant of up to ₹20L for early-stage DeepTech startups (TRL 4+) by SINE IIT Bombay & Excelium.

Open Atlas - AI for Social Good Hackathon 2026

A global AI hackathon for social good with a ₹9.3L prize pool, open to Indian participants.

IndiaAI Startups Global: International Acceleration Programs for Indian AI Startups - 2026 2nd Cohort

A 4-month international acceleration program by IndiaAI Mission to help high-potential Indian AI startups expand into European markets.

Hack4Humanity

Hack4Humanity 2026 is a global hybrid hackathon by IEEE JCTS Pune, challenging innovators to build solutions for humanitarian issues across Quantum Computing, Cyber Security, and AI for Societal Good, with a ₹75,000 prize pool.

NexWave

NexWave is a two-round online technical quiz and coding competition by Jharkhand Raksha Shakti University with a ₹22,500 prize pool.