ET Startup Awards 2026: Nominees for Best on Campus
The Best on Campus award will showcase a startup whose impact can be judged both by the idea and the execution. The founders should have been students whose aim was to build a commercial enterprise.
By ETtech |
We are back with the 12th edition of The Economic Times Startup Awards. As we approach the main event, here are the nominees for Best on Campus.
The Best on Campus award will showcase a startup whose impact can be judged both by the idea and the execution. The founders should have been students whose aim was to build a commercial enterprise. There must be some level of validation either through an investor or a customer.
What it does: A spacetech startup attempting to solve the massive data bottlenecks between space and earth. Its technology aims to enable satellites to transmit data faster and in much larger volumes, serving earth observation, defence, and other space missions.
Key investors: Pi Ventures, gradCapital, Boundless Ventures, Inuka Capital
What it does: Builds snake-like robotic arms that can enter cramped and hazardous industrial spaces where conventional robots and workers struggle to operate. Its systems have applications planned across aviation, oil and gas, and nuclear industries.
Company name: Panoculon Labs
<p>Sreeraj R and Rishabh Sharma, founders, Panoculon Labs<br></p>Founded in: 2023
Founders: Rishabh Sharma, Sreeraj R
Based in: Bengaluru
Key investors: IIT-Madras Incubation Cell, ITEL Foundation, India Accelerator
What it does: Builds vision hardware for robots and AI systems. Its Trinet device captures first-person visual data used to train autonomous robots. The startup is also developing AI-powered smart glasses for visually impaired users and enterprise applications.
Company name: Dream Aerospace
<p>Rogith Srinivasan and Hari Krishnan KJ, founders, Dream Aerospace<br></p>Founded in: 2022
What it does: Develops propulsion systems that help satellites move and maintain their position in orbit, extending their operating life. Its indigenous green-propellant technology is designed as a cleaner alternative to conventional satellite propulsion systems and is initially aimed at the growing low earth orbit satellite market.
Founders: Prabhu Rajagopal, Anirudh Varna, Vijayaraja R
Based in: Chennai
Key investors: Ovington Capital Partners, SIDBI
What it does: Builds AI infrastructure that allows companies to train and deploy AI models on sensitive data without moving the data outside their own systems. It also develops specialised AI applications, including Ashwin AI, a multilingual voice copilot that helps doctors with clinical documentation and data capture.
The ET Startup Awards 2026: Nominees for Best on Campus and Comeback Kid
