ET Startup Awards: Nominees for Startup of the Year

ET Startup Awards 2026: Nominees for Startup of the Year ETtechLast Updated: Aug 21, 2026, 06: 00: 00 AM IST.

Key points

• (Catch all the Technology News News, and Latest News Updates on The Economic Times.).
• We are back with the 12th edition of The Economic Times Startup Awards.
• The ET Startup of the Year will be characterised by breakthrough innovation, top-class execution and fast-paced expansion.
• Elevate your knowledge and leadership skills at a cost cheaper than your daily tea.
• It additionally operates as a marketplace connecting individual customers and small businesses to fleet operators.

For context, the ET Startup of the Year will be characterised by breakthrough innovation, top-class execution and fast-paced expansion. The quality of the founding and management team will be an significant component in decision making. Listen to this article in summarized format.

We are back with the 12th edition of The Economic Times Startup Awards. As we approach the main event, here are the nominees for the most coveted of the eight categories: Startup of the Year. The ET Startup of the Year will be characterised by breakthrough innovation, top-class execution and fast-paced expansion. The quality of the founding and management team will be an significant component in decision making. Here are the nominees.

Firm: Porter Founded in: 2014 Founders: Uttam Digga and Pranav Goel Based in: Bengaluru Key investors: Kedaara Capital, Wellington Management, Tiger Global What it does: Porter provides on-demand logistics services to small and medium enterprises for shorter distances, working with larger trucks along with smaller carriage vehicles for last mile delivery. It additionally operates as a marketplace connecting individual customers and small businesses to fleet operators. Firm: Skyroot Aerospace Founded in: 2018 Founders: Pawan Kumar Chandana and Naga Bharath Daka Based in: Hyderabad Key investors: GIC, Temasek, BlackRock, Arkam Ventures What it does: India's first spacetech unicorn, Skyroot Aerospace is building rockets to provide dedicated, on-demand access to orbit for small satellite operators. Its Vikram-1 vehicle is India's first privately developed rocket to successfully reach LEO inJuly 2026. Notably, the firm is additionally developing the larger Vikram-2 for heavier satellites and working on a reusable rocket. Firm: Rapido Founded in: 2015 Founders: Aravind Sanka, Pavan Guntupalli, and Rishikesh SR Based in: Bengaluru Key investors: Prosus, Nexus Venture Partners, WestBridge Capital What it does: India's largest ride-hailing platform, Rapido offers two-, three-, and four-wheeler taxis throughout 400 cities. It lately rolled out the food delivery app Ownly in Bengaluru, targeting value-conscious customers, and intends to expand the service to other cities shortly. Firm: Meesho Founded in: 2015 Founders: Vidit Aatrey and Sanjeev Barnwal Based in: Bengaluru Key investors: Publicly listed What it does: Meesho is an ecommerce marketplace that specialises in selling low-priced products. In practice, the firm sells apparel, accessories, home and kitchen goods, and electronics. Known for selling unbranded products, it has additionally kicked off Meesho Mall for branded goods, and is well entrenched in non-metro markets. It listed in December 2025 and is at present valued at more than $9 billion. Firm: Groww Founded in: 2016 Founders: Lalit Keshre, Harsh Jain, Neeraj Singh, and Ishan Bansal Based in: Bengaluru Key investors: Publicly listed What it does: India's largest investment platform, Groww offers direct mutual funds and stockbroking services. It is focused on the new generation of retail traders and has now set its sights on becoming India's largest wealth platform. It went public in November 2025 and presently has a market capitalisation of over $12 billion. Firm: Sarvam Founded in: 2023 Founders: Pratyush Kumar and Vivek Raghavan Based in: Bengaluru Key investors: HCLTech, Khosla Ventures, Peak XV Partners, Bessemer What it does: Sarvam is an AI business that develops foundational models. It is the first Indian firm to build 105 billion parameter and 30 billion parameter substantial language models from scratch. It serves enterprises, administration agencies, and developers building AI applications tailored for Indian users.

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