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The ET Startup Awards 2026: Nominees for Best on Campus and Comeback Kid
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Happy Tuesday! We are excited to bring to you the 12th edition of The Economic Times Startup Awards (ETSA). In the run-up to the coveted honours, we are announcing the nominees for the Best on Campus and Comeback Kid categories today.
This year, the jury, led by Wipro’s executive chairman Rishad Premji, will identify founders building resilient and scalable businesses in frontier technology. After deliberations, the jurors will select the winners through a secret ballot when they meet in Bengaluru on August 25.
Meet the ET Startup Awards 2026 jury here
Background: Launched in 2015, the ET Startup Awards continue to be among the most prestigious honours for Indian entrepreneurs, even as the startup ecosystem has evolved significantly, especially with the rise of artificial intelligence. What was once a nascent industry has matured, with several past winners, including Lenskart, Zomato, Delhivery, and Swiggy, now listed on the stock exchanges.
Best on Campus recognises student entrepreneurs for both their ideas and execution, and Comeback Kid category celebrates failures and honours founders who have rebuilt or launched a more successful business despite the setback.
Yesterday, we also revealed the nominees for two other categories. Check them out here:
Despite sharp cost increases in raw materials, packaging, and diesel triggered by geopolitical tensions, new-age consumer and logistics firms in India largely shielded their Q1 margins through selective price hikes, bulk inventory buying, and contractual pass-throughs.
Tell me more:
Heading into the festive season, industry leaders and analysts expect robust growth for online platforms driven by strong demand
Ankit Agarwal, CFO, Navi
Sachin Bansal’s Navi’s consolidated net loss widened nearly fourfold to Rs 466 crore in FY26 from Rs 126 crore a year ago as it increased spending on the unified payments interface (UPI) and newer businesses to build revenue beyond lending, cofounder and chief financial officer Ankit Agarwal told us.
Shibam Das (left) and Manoj Meena, founders, Atomberg
Atomberg Technologies has secured shareholder approval to raise up to Rs 450 crore through fresh shares in its proposed initial public offering (IPO), while also allowing a pre-IPO placement of up to Rs 90 crore.
ET reported on July 31 that the Mumbai-based appliance maker was preparing a Rs 1,500-2,000 crore IPO, including an offer for sale (OFS) by existing investors.
Pradeep Yadav, Head of Operations, Snabbit
Klydo founder Pradeep Yadav joins Snabbit: Former Udaan and Flipkart executive Pradeep Yadav has joined instant domestic help startup Snabbit as the head of operations, the company announced on Monday.
Vijay Shekhar Sharma's Resilient Asset to sell Paytm stake: Resilient Asset Management, which holds shares in Paytm parent One 97 Communications, is looking to sell up to a 4.98% stake in the fintech company through a block market transaction, according to a regulatory filing on Monday.
■ Ban on Chinese robots leaves U.S. startups stranded (Rest of World)
■ What happens when a kid’s robot best friend dies? (MIT Technology Review)
■ Instagram and Facebook could change forever if Meta loses child privacy trial (BBC)
This year, the jury, led by Wipro’s executive chairman Rishad Premji, will identify founders building resilient and scalable businesses in frontier technology. After deliberations, the jurors will select the winners through a secret ballot when they meet in Bengaluru on August 25.
Meet the ET Startup Awards 2026 jury here
Background: Launched in 2015, the ET Startup Awards continue to be among the most prestigious honours for Indian entrepreneurs, even as the startup ecosystem has evolved significantly, especially with the rise of artificial intelligence. What was once a nascent industry has matured, with several past winners, including Lenskart, Zomato, Delhivery, and Swiggy, now listed on the stock exchanges.
And the nominees are…
Best on Campus recognises student entrepreneurs for both their ideas and execution, and Comeback Kid category celebrates failures and honours founders who have rebuilt or launched a more successful business despite the setback.
Best on Campus
- Qosmic
- Armatrix
- Panoculon Labs
- Dream Aerospace
- Plenome Technologies
Comeback Kid
- Shreya Mishra, Neeraj Jain, Nikhil Nahar (SolarSquare)
- Abhishek Bansal, Vaibhav Khandelwal, Praharsh Chandra, Gaurav Jaithlia (Shadowfax)
- Anil Goteti (Scapia)
- Mukund Jha (Emergent)
- Ranjeet Pratap Singh, Sankaranarayanan Devarajan and Sahradayi Modi (Pratilipi)
Yesterday, we also revealed the nominees for two other categories. Check them out here:
New-age firms cushion Q1 raw materials, diesel cost shock with price hikes, efficiencies
Despite sharp cost increases in raw materials, packaging, and diesel triggered by geopolitical tensions, new-age consumer and logistics firms in India largely shielded their Q1 margins through selective price hikes, bulk inventory buying, and contractual pass-throughs.
Tell me more:
- Honasa Consumer cushioned its gross margin impact to a minor 60 bps drop (to 69.7%) via inventory control and end-of-quarter price hikes.
- Wakefit improved gross margins to 57.1% year-on-year by increasing mattress prices to offset raw material inflation.
- Delhivery passed on rising diesel costs.
- Shadowfax temporarily absorbed costs for five days, facing a tough quarter due to higher fuel prices, gas supply issues, and regional elections.
Heading into the festive season, industry leaders and analysts expect robust growth for online platforms driven by strong demand
Navi’s FY26 losses up fourfold to Rs 466 crore on massive UPI push
Sachin Bansal’s Navi’s consolidated net loss widened nearly fourfold to Rs 466 crore in FY26 from Rs 126 crore a year ago as it increased spending on the unified payments interface (UPI) and newer businesses to build revenue beyond lending, cofounder and chief financial officer Ankit Agarwal told us.
Atomberg receives shareholder approval for Rs 450 crore fresh issue, Rs 90 crore pre-IPO placement
Atomberg Technologies has secured shareholder approval to raise up to Rs 450 crore through fresh shares in its proposed initial public offering (IPO), while also allowing a pre-IPO placement of up to Rs 90 crore.
ET reported on July 31 that the Mumbai-based appliance maker was preparing a Rs 1,500-2,000 crore IPO, including an offer for sale (OFS) by existing investors.
Other Top Stories By Our Reporters
Klydo founder Pradeep Yadav joins Snabbit: Former Udaan and Flipkart executive Pradeep Yadav has joined instant domestic help startup Snabbit as the head of operations, the company announced on Monday.
Vijay Shekhar Sharma's Resilient Asset to sell Paytm stake: Resilient Asset Management, which holds shares in Paytm parent One 97 Communications, is looking to sell up to a 4.98% stake in the fintech company through a block market transaction, according to a regulatory filing on Monday.
Global Picks We Are Reading
■ Ban on Chinese robots leaves U.S. startups stranded (Rest of World)
■ What happens when a kid’s robot best friend dies? (MIT Technology Review)
■ Instagram and Facebook could change forever if Meta loses child privacy trial (BBC)
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