The Bharat Innovates Deep-Tech Pre-Summit, a national showcase of India’s emerging deep-technology startups, was inaugurated today at ASPIRE - IIT Bombay Research Park Foundation in the IIT Bombay campus by Prof. Ajay Kumar Sood, Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India and Chairperson of the Prime Minister’s Science,
Technology & Innovation Advisory Council (PM-STIAC), in the presence of senior deligates from the Government of India. These included Dr. Vineet Joshi, Secretary, Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education; Prof. Abhay Karandikar, Secretary, Department of Science and Technology; Dr. K. Radhakrishnan, Chairperson, Board of Governors, IIT ombay and Prof. Shireesh Kedare, Director, IIT Bombay. The two-day event brings together leading startups, investors, industry leaders, policymakers and representatives from the IT and IISc ecosystems to celebrate and strengthen India’s deep-tech innovation landscape.
The Pre-Summit serves as a precursor to the “Bharat Innovates 2026” international showcase, to be held in France later this year as part of the India-France Year of Innovation 2026, announced by the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi ji. The initiative aims to present India’s most promising deep-tech ventures to global investors and partners.
Welcoming the dignitaries and participants, Prof. Shireesh Kedare highlighted the collaborative effort of the IIT and IISc ecosystem in nurturing India’s deep-tech innovation pipeline. He noted that more than 3,000 startup applications were received from across the country from which 137 of India’s most promising deep-tech startups were selected to showcase their innovations at the event.
In his inaugural address, Chief Guest Prof. Ajay Kumar Sood emphasized the importance of deep-tech innovation in shaping India’s technological leadership and global competitiveness, while highlighting the role of academic institutions, research ecosystems and startups in advancing cutting-edge technologies.
The ceremony also featured addresses by Dr. Vineet Joshi, Prof. Abhay Karandikar and Dr. K. Radhakrishnan.
The inaugural session also featured inspiring deep-tech entrepreneurship journeys from IIT campuses, with insights from Mr. Manoj Meena, Co-founder, Atomberg Technologies (IIT Bombay) and Prof. Rahul Purwar, Founder, ImmunoAct (IIT Bombay), who shared their experiences of building globally recognized deep-tech ventures emerging from IIT campuses.
Following the inauguration, the Chief Guest and dignitaries walked through the startup exhibition, interacting with founders and exploring innovations presented across dedicated startup stalls and the IIT pavilion showcasing institutional research and entrepreneurship initiatives.
The summit features curated investor interactions, startup exhibitions and structured pitching sessions, enabling startups to present their technologies to investors, industry leaders and policymakers. On the first day, more than 70 startups presented their ideas across multiple parallel pitch sessions, followed by reverse pitches from leading investors and industry representatives, highlighting priority investment areas and industry-driven technological challenges.
The Bharat Innovates Deep-Tech Pre-Summit brings together stakeholders from across India’s innovation ecosystem and provides a national platform for emerging startups to connect with investors, industry leaders, and policy makers ahead of the global showcase in France.