01
AI Startup of the Year
A native AI-first company building foundational or applied products shaping India's AI landscape.
AI Excellence Awards 2026
Co-Presented by
Why this is different
01
Research-led evaluation
Based on rigorous independent research.
02
Independent jury
A strong jury panel of industry stalwarts.
03
Impact-led
Metrics matter. We recognise AI that moved the needle on efficiency, cost, access, or scale.
Award Categories
10 Categories
02
Healthtech AI
AI improving diagnostics, care delivery, drug discovery, or health access at scale.
03
Dev & Prosumer AI
Built for builders: AI that makes developers, designers, and creators meaningfully faster.
04
Legal AI
AI applied to legal research, contracts, compliance, or access to justice.
05
Consumer AI
AI products built directly for end consumers: utility, delight, and daily relevance.
06
Finance AI
AI applied to credit, payments, fraud, compliance, or financial inclusion at scale.
07
Education AI
AI changing how India learns: personalisation, access, assessments, or outcomes at scale.
08
Entertainment AI
AI redefining gaming, content creation, live events, or digital media experiences.
09
AI Breakthrough Innovation
For the most technically novel work: early-stage, research-to-product, or frontier applications that push the boundary of what AI can do.
10
Physical AI
AI operating in the physical world: robotics, autonomous systems, manufacturing, or infrastructure.
Meet the Jury
An independent panel of leaders and researchers leading AI work at scale.
7 Judges
Vaidyanathan V
MD & CEO
IDFC FIRST Bank
Amit Kumar
MD, Digital Natives
Google Cloud India
Dhruvil Sanghvi
Founder
LogiNext
Manish Gupta
Senior Director
Google DeepMind
Pragya Misra
Head, Strategy & Global Affairs, India
OpenAI
Syed Adil
India Growth
Replit
Vivek Khemani
Co-Founder
Quantiphi