ZIVOX AI Innovation Challenge 2026

Tekion's women-only hackathon for final-year B.Tech/B.E. students in India, with a ₹3 lakh cash prize for the winning team. Registration closes 6 November 2026.

A one-day Edge AI innovation challenge to build practical proofs-of-concept for real-world societal challenges, offering cash awards to winners and structured learning opportunities.

Explore international market access, technology internationalisation, partnerships, and commercialisation opportunities through BIRAC EDGE at IKP Knowledge Park.

Odisha's state hackathon for student teams: document a local problem, then build a prototype in a 24-hour sprint in Bhubaneswar for cash prizes up to ₹1 lakh and AIC-Nalanda incubation. Register by 7 November 2026.

Online AI agent hackathon from Vultr on lablab.ai. Build agents that do real work inside a Vultr sandbox. Top prize US$5,000 (about ₹4.75 lakh) in cash. Submit by 8 November 2026.

A one-year equity-free fellowship by Bharathiya Vikas Trust, offering up to ₹30 lakh and comprehensive support to biomedical innovators at TRL 4+.

An industry-specific accelerator program connecting mid-to-late stage startups with corporate partners to solve complex challenges and drive commercial collaboration.

A program by IIML EIC under DST-NIDHI offering equity-based seed funding up to ₹25 lakhs and structured incubation for DeepTech startups.

This PLI scheme by the Ministry of Heavy Industries incentivises domestic and foreign investors to establish giga-scale Advanced Chemistry Cell (ACC) battery manufacturing facilities in India with financial subsidies.

An early-stage startup challenge by Cars24, Startup India, and Startup Policy Forum, offering a shared prize pool of ₹1 crore, mentorship, and deployment opportunities across Fintech, Mobility, Supply Chain, and Sovereign AI.

Soft loan of up to Rs. 15 lakhs at 6% simple interest for early-stage Kerala startups building innovative products, from the Kerala Startup Mission.

Interest-free seed loan for Bihar-registered validation-stage startups, with bonus for women/SC/ST/differently-abled.

Funding for Kerala-registered revenue-stage tech startups with collateral-free debt.

Soft loan for women entrepreneurs in Kerala with government/PSU project orders.

Credit guarantee cover up to Rs 20 crore that lets banks, NBFCs and AIFs lend to DPIIT-recognised startups without collateral. You receive a loan and repay it. CGSS is not a grant.

Collateral-free credit guarantee up to ₹2 crore for micro & small enterprises

Collateral-free loans up to ₹20 lakh for micro and small non-farm businesses

Below-market soft loans from ₹10 lakh for MSMEs in manufacturing and services

Subordinate debt with 90% CGTMSE guarantee for stressed/NPA-classified MSMEs

Below-market NABARD loans for dairy cooperatives and producer companies for processing infrastructure

Tekion's women-only hackathon for final-year B.Tech/B.E. students in India, with a ₹3 lakh cash prize for the winning team. Registration closes 6 November 2026.

A one-day Edge AI innovation challenge to build practical proofs-of-concept for real-world societal challenges, offering cash awards to winners and structured learning opportunities.

Odisha's state hackathon for student teams: document a local problem, then build a prototype in a 24-hour sprint in Bhubaneswar for cash prizes up to ₹1 lakh and AIC-Nalanda incubation. Register by 7 November 2026.

Online AI agent hackathon from Vultr on lablab.ai. Build agents that do real work inside a Vultr sandbox. Top prize US$5,000 (about ₹4.75 lakh) in cash. Submit by 8 November 2026.

An industry-specific accelerator program connecting mid-to-late stage startups with corporate partners to solve complex challenges and drive commercial collaboration.

An early-stage startup challenge by Cars24, Startup India, and Startup Policy Forum, offering a shared prize pool of ₹1 crore, mentorship, and deployment opportunities across Fintech, Mobility, Supply Chain, and Sovereign AI.

PayPal's online hackathon for apps that combine the PayPal developer platform with AI. US$67,500 (about ₹64 lakh) in cash prizes, with US$12,000 (about ₹11.4 lakh) for first place. Closes 12 November 2026.

University of California robotics and AI challenge for student teams solving real farm problems: over US$200,000 in prizes and startup support, open to students worldwide. Proposals due 13 November 2026 (the Participate page says 13 December).

A nationwide buildathon for founders and aspiring entrepreneurs to build and scale AI-powered solutions with Google AI, expert mentorship, and startup grants and credits.

DARPA's prize contest for autonomous trauma-surgery robots: US$3.5 million in prizes, up to US$1 million (about ₹9.5 crore) per lane. Qualification closes 14 November 2026 IST.