gradCapital

Choosing the right route

gradCapital runs separate routes for different situations, so match yours before applying:

• Building a company as a student: the Company route, whether you are full-time or one to two years from graduating and working part-time.
• A science or engineering project: the Atomic Grant.
• An idea you want to experiment with: the Feather Grant.
• Heading to a university outside India: the Scholarship, if you already hold an admission offer for an undergraduate or MS/PhD programme.

How applications work

Each route is applied for through the Apply route on gradCapital's site, which opens an application form. The Scholarship is taken on a rolling basis with no fixed deadline, so you can apply when you have your offer in hand.

What to have ready

The funding routes ask you to be a student founder working on an idea, project or company. The Scholarship asks for proof of an admission offer from a university outside India. Beyond that, gradCapital does not publish a detailed set of selection criteria, so lead with what you are building and why you are the person to build it.

gradCapital is a backer of student founders. It describes what it does plainly: it funds students with projects and companies. Rather than running a cohort or an incubation space, it puts money behind young people building something, and it does this through a small set of named routes.

What they support

gradCapital's main route is for students building a company. It funds founders working on their idea full-time, and also founders who are one to two years from graduating and working on it part-time. Alongside that it runs two grants: the Atomic Grant, for science and engineering projects, and the Feather Grant, to experiment with any idea. There is no stated requirement beyond being a student founder, and the pages for these routes do not state a geography restriction.

gradCapital also offers a Scholarship, and this one is scoped differently. It is for students who have an admission offer from a university outside India, for an undergraduate or an MS or PhD programme. In other words it supports study abroad, and it is open to applicants currently in India who hold an offer from a foreign university. The page states there are no terms and conditions attached and that applications are taken on a rolling basis.

Programmes

gradCapital names four live routes. The Company route funds students to work on their idea or startup, with a larger commitment for full-time founders and a smaller one for those still studying and working part-time. The Atomic Grant backs science and engineering projects. The Feather Grant is a no-strings grant to try out any idea. The Scholarship supports students heading to a university abroad. Each route has its own application, reached from the Apply route on the site.

Who can apply

The funding routes are aimed at student founders, whether building full-time or part-time while finishing a degree. The Atomic Grant expects a science or engineering project; the Feather Grant is open to any idea you want to experiment with. The Scholarship is the one route with a clear eligibility gate: an admission offer from a university outside India, for an undergraduate or postgraduate programme.

How to apply

Applications go through the Apply route on gradCapital's site, which leads to an application form. The Scholarship is applied for the same way and is accepted on a rolling basis, with no fixed deadline. gradCapital publishes its funding routes on its philosophy page and the scholarship details on a dedicated scholarship page.