Startup Competitions & Hackathons in India

NeurIPS 2026 challenge to predict survey answers with AI using unreleased UN and World Bank data. US$16,500 in prizes, with a US$10,000 grand prize (about ₹9.5 lakh).

Pitch competition for early quantum startups at Q2B26 in Chicago: US$150,000 prize pool, with US$50,000 (about ₹47.5 lakh) non-dilutive for each of the top two. Apply by 20 November 2026.

Up to three grants of US$40,000 (about ₹38 lakh) for Indian insurers, insurtechs and fintechs scaling insurance that protects MSMEs and their workers. Closes 20 November 2026.

A flagship initiative by the Government of Telangana challenging startups, innovators, and researchers to solve real-world public-sector problems for potential pilot and deployment opportunities.

One US$250,000 (about ₹2.38 crore) non-dilutive Grand Prize from the University of Utah's Wilkes Center for a climate solution ready to move toward real-world use.

Stanford-led challenge for university student teams building sustainability solutions, with a US$35,000+ (about ₹33.25 lakh) prize pool. Phase 1 due 22 November 2026.

A global competition for early-stage AI startups addressing major global challenges, offering a $20,000 grand prize, mentorship, and global exposure.

Google's Kaggle competition for software developer agents built on Gemma 4. US$110,000 in prizes, with US$37,000 (about ₹35.2 lakh) for first place.

A virtual hackathon for students, researchers, and early-stage entrepreneurs focused on SDGs and global science — $1,000 prize pool.

Business-plan competition for chemistry, process engineering and biotech founders: EUR 15,000 (about ₹16.4 lakh) for the winner. Business plans due 30 November 2026.

Global energy and climate tech startup competition by Germany's energy agency: EUR 10,000 (about ₹10.9 lakh) equity-free per category winner. Apply by 29 November 2026.

NSA 6.0 is a flagship initiative by Startup India, DPIIT, recognising and rewarding startups with innovative, scalable, and impactful solutions across 22 categories, offering a cash prize of ₹25 lakh.

A national competition by Startup India for school and college students, awarding cash prizes for innovative prototypes and MVPs across key sectors.

Google's online Firebase hackathon for AI apps that run on-device and in the cloud. One Grand Prize of US$30,000 (about ₹28.5 lakh) in cash; submissions close 30 November 2026.

Pitch competition for digital health startups run by US health-records company CharmHealth: top prize US$10,000 (about ₹9.5 lakh). Apply by 30 November 2026 (Pacific time).

Stanford Center on Longevity's global student design challenge on robotics for long lives. First prize US$10,000 (about ₹9.5 lakh); finalists get US$1,000 and a mentor.

NeurIPS 2026 challenge from Stanford's Qiu Lab to model embryo development from single-cell data. US$112,000 in prizes and awards; first prizes are US$8,000 per track.

AWS's online hackathon for apps built with Kiro, its AI coding tool. US$100,000 in cash prizes (about ₹95 lakh), with US$30,000 (about ₹28.5 lakh) for first place. Closes 4 December 2026.

IEEE's online challenge to adapt an open LLM to answer expert questions in two niche fields. US$20,000 in prizes; first place wins US$9,000 (about ₹8.55 lakh).

Sopra Steria's student team contest for responsible digital-tech projects, open in India and eight European countries. First prize €10,000 (about ₹10.9 lakh). Apply by 6 December 2026.

A US$1.5 million (about ₹14.25 crore) environmental prize for food-system projects. Anyone can nominate, including yourself, online and year-round; no country restriction is stated.

Uttar Pradesh awards up to ₹3 crore in grant-in-aid to scaling-stage startups picked through an open Grand Challenge.