NSRCEL

🚀 A proud milestone for the NSRCEL ecosystem!

Sarvam AI, a from Cohort 5 of the Incubation Program for Mobility Startups, an initiative by Maruti Suzuki with NSRCEL, has joined the Unicorn Club!

Building India’s sovereign AI stack through foundational models, compute, and AI deployments, Sarvam AI has announced the first close of its Series B round, raising $234M at a $1.5B valuation. The round brings together leading investors including HCLTech, Bessemer Venture Partners India, Khosla Ventures, and Peak XV Partners

Congratulations to the Sarvam AI team on this incredible milestone. We are proud to have been part of their journey and look forward to seeing their continued impact in shaping India’s AI future.

From strategy to scale, Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women empowers entrepreneurs to strengthen business performance and drive economic contribution.

Since 2008, 10,000 Women has trained over 4,100+ women entrepreneurs from businesses across 32 states and union territories in India. It provides growth-ready women business owners with an executive education program spanning three months, offering 100+ hours of intensive classroom sessions, business mentorship with industry experts, and a differentiated peer-learning environment.

Applications are open – register here: https://www.goldmansachs.com/worldwide/india/10000-women/apply or click the link in our bio!

As part of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women program, we hosted an engaging panel discussion on "Fundraising for Women Entrepreneurs", bringing together diverse perspectives from across the startup ecosystem.

The session featured:

🔹 Bindu Eswara Reddy, Head of Discover Ventures, Dexter Capital Advisors
🔹 Anisha Patnaik, Founder, LexStart Partners
🔹 Nikkitha Shanker, Co-founder and CEO, SuperBryn
🔹 and was moderated by S Vishal, Program Manager, Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women, NSRCEL

The conversation explored key aspects of the fundraising journey—from assessing funding readiness and understanding investor expectations to navigating negotiations, crafting compelling pitches, and preserving equity while scaling a business.

This evening brought our entrepreneurs, mentors, and ecosystem stakeholders together to exchange ideas and foster meaningful connections!

Building the Future of India’s Circular Economy ♻️

Project Circular Bharat (PCB), Hindustan ’s national plastics circularity programme, is a multi-stakeholder initiative driving India’s transition towards a circular economy through segregation at source, social inclusion of waste workers, strengthening integrated recycling infrastructure, and supporting innovation-led scalable solutions.

As a key pillar under PCB, the Circular Bharat Accelerator, an initiative by Hindustan Unilever Limited and NITI Aayog in partnership with NSRCEL and Xynteo, officially kicked off with the Circular Bharat Accelerator Bootcamp.

The bootcamp brought together founders, policymakers, corporates, and ecosystem leaders working towards a more circular future for India. Through conversations on policy, partnerships, innovation, and scaling circular businesses, the cohort startups engaged directly with ecosystem stakeholders, corporates, and government partners.

The day also featured partner-led keynote sessions, networking mixers, and deep dives into funding readiness, enterprise partnerships, and scaling business models for circular economy solutions creating opportunities to explore real-world collaborations

The inaugural cohort of 12 startups is building solutions across Circular Supply Chains & Resource Efficiency, Plastic Circularity & Sustainable Packaging, and Advanced Recycling & Waste Processing, marking the beginning of their journey through the accelerator.

17 startups.

2 rounds of pitching.

1 room full of feedback, conversations, and opportunities.

Defence Tech Demo Day brought together startups building in defence and deeptech to put their innovations in front of investors, industry experts, and defence leaders.

The day kicked off with Round 1, where 17 selected startups pitched to VC associates.

The top 5 startups then advanced to the final round, presenting their solutions before an expert panel comprising - Lt. Col. Ishwar G Doddamani (Retd.),

Col. Ananth Srinivas, Operational Logoistics (Retd.), Vivek Krishnan

CEO, SSS Defence, Sridhar Parthasarathy, Co-Founder & General Partner, Bluehill.VC, Manu Iyer, Co-Founder & General Partner, Bluehill.vc, and

Kiran Sharma, Co-Founder, Kepler Aero.

This initiative was a part of Velocity - Kotak BizLabs Accelerator Programme, a CSR initiative by Kotak Mahindra Bank in partnership with NSRCEL.

From expert feedback to discussions on real-world applications, founders gained valuable perspectives from those who understand both technology and the defence ecosystem.

The conversations didn't end with the pitches. Startups showcased their products, connected with attendees, and continued discussions over networking and high tea.

A day dedicated to helping innovation move closer to adoption.

As AI capabilities become more accessible and technology continues to commoditise, founders are being forced to rethink what creates a lasting competitive advantage. If technology is becoming easier to build and replicate, what becomes the moat?

For many startups, the answer is context. The ability to understand customers better than anyone else, and translate those insights into products, experiences, and decisions, is increasingly becoming the moat that sets businesses apart.

Join us for this edition of Fintech Friday with ZOOP.one, an initiative by NSRCEL as a part of FinTech CoE, in partnership with Government of Karnataka, where we have these esteemed panelists:
Harsh Surana, Chief Strategy Officer, Zoop.one
Vijay Narayanan, Head of Innovation and AI, Kotak Mahindra Bank
Deepti George, Founder, Yutadhi (Moderator)

This panel will explore how founders can move beyond product development to build deeper customer understanding, whether growth comes from going deep within a domain or expanding across multiple sub-sectors, and how specialization can become a growth strategy rather than a limitation.

From approaching integrations and partnerships to understanding common pitfalls, our panelists will share lessons from their experiences across the ecosystem.

Event Details -
📅 Date: 26th June 2026 (Friday)
⏰ Time: 4:00 PM onwards
📍Venue: IIM Bangalore (Venue will be shared with confirmed participants)
RSVP Now - https://luma.com/oo5ycqwu

If you're building in fintech, AI, or financial services, join us for an evening of insights and conversations with leaders shaping the future of the industry.

🚀 2 Days to Go.

Building in DeepTech or DefenceTech?

This is your chance to move from building in stealth to pitching in the spotlight.

At Defence Tech Demo Day, you'll will get the opportunity to engage in 1-on-1 conversations with VC associates, showcase your products through live demos, and compete for a place among the Top 5 startups selected for the final pitch round.

The finalists will take the stage to pitch to a panel featuring Ishwar G Doddamani, Ex- Indian Army (Combat Terrorism), Retd. Col. Ananth Srinivas,

Operational Logoistics, Indian Army, Vivek Krishnan, CEO, SSS Defence,

Sridhar Parthasarathy, Co-Founder & General Partner, Bluehill.VC, Manu Iyer, Co-Founder & General Partner, Bluehill.VC, Kiran Sharma, Co-Founder, Kepler Aero.

Whether it's a breakthrough technology, a dual-use innovation, or a product ready for deployment, bring it, demo it, and make your case.

One day. One room. A chance to get your innovation seen, tested, and talked about.

🗓 10 June 2026 | 10:00 AM onwards

📍 IIM Banaglore (invite-only)

🔗 Register: https://luma.com/wd0ksvmc

A part of the Velocity – Kotak BizLabs Accelerator Programme, a CSR initiative by Kotak Mahindra Bank in partnership with NSRCEL.

Launching India’s Renewable Energy Incubation Centre

India’s clean energy transition will require not just innovation, but the right support systems to help promising solutions reach deployment and scale.

NSRCEL is proud to join hands with Karnataka Renewable Energy Development Ltd, Government of Karnataka (KREDL), Foundation for Science, Innovation and Development, IISc Bangalore , Indian Institute of Science (IISc), and UNSW Sydney for the launch of the Renewable Energy Incubation Centre (REIC), a dedicated platform designed to strengthen Karnataka’s renewable energy and clean-tech innovation ecosystem.

The partnership has been formalised through the signing of an MoU between the collaborating institutions, and a MSA between NSRCEL and Karnataka Renewable Energy Development Ltd, Government of Karnataka marking an important step towards building a stronger support system for clean energy innovation

This initiative brings together incubation support, deep-tech expertise, technical validation, policy access, global exposure, and market readiness under one platform. Through the combined strengths of KREDL, NSRCEL, FSID (IISc), IISc, and UNSW, startups will gain access to mentorship, laboratory facilities, deployment pathways, investor networks, and ecosystem connections that can help them validate, pilot, and scale their solutions.

REIC aims to support the next generation of renewable energy, clean energy, climate-tech, and allied startups working to accelerate India's energy transition.

Applications will be opening soon.

🚀 DefenceTech Demo Day | 10 June

If you're building in DeepTech or DefenceTech, this is your opportunity to put your innovation in the spotlight.

Defence Tech Demo Day brings together founders, experts, and startup ecosystem enablers for a day focused on technology, innovation, and meaningful conversations.

Start with 1-on-1 interactions with VC associates, showcase your innovation, and top 5 startups will advance to the final pitch round, wherethey'll pitch to these panelists and more: Sridhar Parthasarathy, Co-Founder & General Partner, Bluehill.VC, Manu Iyer, Co-Founder & General Partner, Bluehill.vc, Kiran Sharma, Co-Founder, Kepler Aero.

Bring your product for live demonstrations and put your solution in front of an engaged audience.

From startup pitches and product demonstrations to expert feedback and networking opportunities, Defence Tech Demo Day is for you to gain visibility, validate solutions, and connect with the right people.

🗓 10th June 2026 | 10:00 AM onwards

📍 Bengaluru (will be shared withs selected participants)

🔗 Register: https://luma.com/wd0ksvmc

A part of the Velocity – Kotak BizLabs Accelerator Programme, a CSR initiative by Kotak Mahindra Bank in partnership with NSRCEL.

Bluehill.VC