Startups take centre stage as UpStart 2025 gives ideas a lift-off

MUMBAI: Bengaluru didn’t just host a startup event, it felt like India’s entrepreneurial pulse kicked into overdrive. UpStart 2025, the flagship national pitching competition by Entrepreneurship Cell, IIT Kanpur, touched down in the city with its biggest-ever edition, turning the Davanam Sarovar Hotel into a buzzing arena of ideas, ambition and unapologetic hustle. With 20 plus dignitaries, including global VCs from South Korea and Singapore, the atmosphere crackled with the energy only a startup capital can conjure.

The event showcased 24 plus early-stage startups spanning technology, healthcare, defence, ed-tech, fashion, sustainability and F&B. In a Shark Tank-style live arena, founders had 7 minutes to pitch and 5 minutes for grilling, facing sharp questions from investors who came armed with appetite and scrutiny.

The competition reached viewers beyond Bengaluru too, it was telecast live with StartupTV and iQue Ventures, pushing early-stage innovation straight onto national screens.

These selected startups will now progress through multiple screening rounds and in-person mentoring sessions before heading to the grand finals at the IIT Kanpur campus on January 25, 2026, part of E-Summit’25.

And Bengaluru wasn’t the only pit stop: editions in Delhi-NCR and Hyderabad have already seen 23 plus startups pitch across fintech, health tech, deep tech, Web3, cybersecurity and more. The circuit now rolls into Mumbai on December 6, before finalists emerge.

The organising team from Entrepreneurship Cell, IIT Kanpur summed up the day with characteristic clarity, “Bengaluru represents the heartbeat of the Indian startup ecosystem. Today’s event showcased highly innovative founders building for the future. We remain committed to helping them reach the pinnacle of success.”

Heavy-hitters from across the venture landscape turned up, including:
• Unicorn Incubator South Korea
• Emphasis Investments
• Ankur Capital
• Thaksil Ventures
• IAN Ventures
…along with several others evaluating the country’s next breakthrough ventures.

Delhi-NCR’s earlier edition featured VCs from GMR Group, Inflection Point Ventures, Finvolve, GrowX Ventures, and more signalling the rising investor appetite for UpStart’s national pipeline.

Across its editions, UpStart has transformed into a rare confluence where founders gain:
• network access
• industry-veteran feedback
• storytelling refinement
• visibility across cities
• cross-sector insight

For many, it’s not just a business competition, it’s a career-shaping accelerator, and a rare chance to pressure-test ideas under the brightest lights.

With Bengaluru wrapped, Hyderabad buzzing, Delhi-NCR completed and Mumbai next in line, UpStart 2025 is rolling across India with the force of a nationwide innovation tour.

If early signs are anything to go by, the finals at IIT Kanpur may just witness India’s next big headline-maker, one pitch at a time.