16 Startup Grants and Seed Funds Closing This Week (17-26 August)

From 17 August to 26 August 2026, 16 startup grants, seed funds, incubation programs, and competitions close their application windows. These opportunities range from global AI challenges to state-level agri-tech incubation and institutional seed grants.

Organizations include Pear VC, IIM Calcutta Innovation Park, NIT Rourkela, IIM Kashipur, IIT Delhi, the Department of Science & Technology, XPRIZE, and HUL, among others. Founders, students, and researchers will find cash prizes and structured support programs.

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At a Glance

Build with Gemini XPRIZE (XPRIZE) Closes 17 August

Build with Gemini XPRIZE is a global innovation challenge by XPRIZE in collaboration with Google. It invites developers, researchers, startups, and academic teams to build applications using Google's Gemini AI models.

The challenge targets critical global issues across multiple domains. Prize funding goes up to ₹18 crore. It is open to multidisciplinary teams, and applicants can register until the deadline.

PearX — Pear VC accelerator (Pear VC) Closes 17 August

PearX — Pear VC accelerator is a small-batch accelerator for pre-seed startups, run by Pear VC in Palo Alto and the San Francisco Bay Area. It runs two cohorts annually — winter and summer — and provides immersive retreats, one-on-one meetings with Pear partners, workshops, and founder-to-founder mentorship.

The program offers up to ₹17 crore in investment. It is designed for early-stage companies focused on intense company building. Applications for the W27 cohort are open until 17 August.

XPRIZE Build with Gemini Hackathon 2026 (XPRIZE) Closes 18 August

XPRIZE Build with Gemini Hackathon 2026 is a global competition organized by XPRIZE. With a $2 million prize pool (approximately ₹18.4 crore), it asks participants to build AI-powered solutions using Google's Gemini platform.

Open to developers, engineers, students, and entrepreneurs worldwide, including Indian teams. Submissions are accepted via Devpost until 18 August 2026. The top prize is $500,000, with additional prizes for runners-up.

Prakriti Incubation Launchpad Cohort 2 (IIMCIP) Closes 18 August

Prakriti Incubation Launchpad Cohort 2 is run by IIM Calcutta Innovation Park with the Pernod Ricard India Foundation. It supports startups in India's North Eastern Region that address environmental challenges and create sustainable livelihoods.

Selected startups receive incubation support and up to ₹15 lakh. The program focuses on environmental conservation, climate resilience, and sustainable industrial development. It targets nascent enterprises tackling rapid urbanization, inefficient resource management, and limited waste infrastructure.

Code Carnage (HackFinity) Closes 18 August

Code Carnage is an online hackathon by HackFinity with a $10,000 prize pool (approximately ₹9.2 lakh). It is beginner-friendly and welcomes students and early-career developers.

Themes include Education and Machine Learning/AI. The hackathon runs from July 18 to August 18, 2026, and is open to individuals and teams globally, including Indian participants.

CockroachDB × AWS Hackathon - Build with Agentic Memory (CockroachDB/AWS) Closes 18 August

CockroachDB × AWS Hackathon - Build with Agentic Memory is organized by Cockroach Labs and AWS. Participants build applications using agentic memory — pairing CockroachDB's distributed SQL with AWS cloud services to create intelligent, memory-aware systems.

The competition is open to developers, engineers, data scientists, and teams worldwide. Prizes total up to ₹8 lakh. No prior CockroachDB experience is required; resources and mentorship are provided.

CodeFury 9.0 (IEEE UVCE) Closes 19 August

CodeFury 9.0 is a national-level online hackathon by the IEEE UVCE Computer Society. It is open to all Indian college students; intercollegiate teams are welcome. Individual registration is required, and team formation is facilitated later.

Participants choose from problem statements across multiple domains. Prizes total up to ₹60,000. The hackathon is conducted entirely online.

Code Forge 2026 (G.H. Raisoni) Closes 19 August

Code Forge 2026 is an 8-hour software development hackathon by the Department of Science & Technology at G.H. Raisoni College of Engineering & Management, Nagpur. The theme is Intelligent Systems.

Open to undergraduate and postgraduate students with a valid college ID. The winning team receives up to ₹25,000. It is designed for students from all technical disciplines.

HUL TechTonic Season 8 (HUL) Closes 20 August

HUL TechTonic Season 8 is Unilever's annual technology case competition for B-schools. It is open to first-year MBA students from 14 select institutions, including FMS Delhi, IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Bangalore, IIM Calcutta, IIM Indore, IIM Kozhikode, IIM Lucknow, IIM Mumbai, JBIMS Mumbai, SJMSOM IIT Bombay, SPJIMR Mumbai, SCMHRD, XLRI Delhi, and XLRI Jamshedpur.

Teams of exactly three members from the same campus compete using AI, strategic thinking, and creativity. Cross-specialisation teams are allowed. Prizes go up to ₹6.25 lakh.

MCL Seed Grant 2026 (NIT Rourkela) Closes 20 August

MCL Seed Grant 2026 is administered by the Foundation for Technology & Business Incubation at NIT Rourkela, under Mahanadi Coalfields Limited's CSR program. It funds early-stage startups developing groundbreaking technologies with a high gestation period and potential for social benefits.

The grant provides up to ₹3 lakh in seed capital to support prototyping, market entry, and growth within an incubation ecosystem.

Kurukshetra 2.0 Hackfest (MIT College) Closes 20 August

Kurukshetra 2.0 Hackfest is a 24-hour national-level hackathon by MIT Arts, Commerce & Science College, Alandi, Pune. It covers AI/ML, Cyber Security, Blockchain, and Open Innovation, with problem statements released at the start of the event.

Open to all college students in teams of 1–4. Prizes total up to ₹1 lakh. No prior elimination rounds — all registered participants compete directly.

Specathon 2026 (St. Peter's Engineering College) Closes 20 August

Specathon 2026 is a 36-hour national-level hackathon by St. Peter's Engineering College, Medchal, Telangana. Domains include AI, Cyber Security, Data Science, Agriculture, Waste Management, Blockchain, Auto Tech, and IoT.

Open to undergraduate students; teams of 2–4 are encouraged. Interdisciplinary teams are welcome. Up to ₹60,000 in prizes.

Nexora (HackHere) Closes 20 August

Nexora is a 24-hour hybrid hackathon by HackHere, hosted at SNS iHUB, Coimbatore. Tracks include Cyber Security and other tech domains, with a focus on solving real-world challenges.

Open to students from recognized institutions. Teams of 1–4; inter-college and inter-department teams are allowed. Prizes up to ₹30,000.

RKVY-RABI Program 2026 (IIM Kashipur) Closes 25 August

RKVY-RABI Program 2026 is organized by IIM Kashipur FIED with the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare. It supports agri-startups based in Uttarakhand, providing a platform for growth and commercialization.

The program includes a one-month entrepreneurship development program, strategic guidance, and financial aid up to ₹2.5 crore. It addresses challenges faced by agri-entrepreneurs in the state.

RakshaTech Synapse 2026 (IHFC IIT Delhi) Closes 26 August

RakshaTech Synapse 2026 is an innovation initiative by IHFC (TIH of IIT Delhi) with the Indian Army's Corps of EME. It targets researchers, innovators, deep-tech startups, and organizations with working prototypes in AI, Robotics, Cobotics, and Autonomous Systems.

Selected teams receive funding up to ₹5 crore to translate lab-scale research into field-ready solutions for national security, defense, space-based applications, and disaster management.

NIDHI iTBI Program at dtVL-AdtU (DST) Closes 26 August

NIDHI iTBI Program at dtVL-AdtU is supported by the Department of Science & Technology and run at down town Venture Labs, Assam down town University. It invites startups in Healthcare and ICT domains to join its incubation program.

The program offers ignition grants up to ₹10 lakh, prototyping support, R&D guidance, and market entry assistance. It is designed for early-stage tech startups from idea to impact.

Before Applying

Several programs in this list carry specific eligibility constraints. HUL TechTonic is limited to first-year MBA students from a fixed set of B-schools. RKVY-RABI is for agri-startups in Uttarakhand. Prakriti focuses on the North Eastern Region, while RakshaTech requires working prototypes in defense-related deep-tech. NIDHI iTBI is restricted to Healthcare and ICT startups.

Deadlines are clustered: 17 August has two closures, 18 August has four, and 20 August has five. PearX and the XPRIZE challenges run once per cycle — missing their dates means waiting for the next edition or cohort. University hackathons like CodeFury and Specathon also operate on fixed annual schedules.