TiE Delhi-NCR successfully concluded India Innovation Day 2026 at The Leela Ambience, bringing together over 1,200 founders, investors, policymakers, corporate leaders and technologists for discussions around India’s evolving innovation economy.
The 15th edition of the platform, formerly known as India Internet Day, was themed ‘Audacity of Now’ and focused on India’s rapid progress across AI, DeepTech, biotech, D2C, space technology, quantum computing and Bharat-led innovation. According to the organisers, India recognised over 55,200 startups in FY 2025–26, while DeepTech funding reportedly grew 37% to $2.3 billion.
The summit featured sessions and keynotes from industry leaders including Pragya Misra, Ankur Warikoo, Sunil Kant Munjal, Vivek Raghavan, Sudhir Sethi and Deep Kalra, among others.
Speaking on India’s evolving AI landscape, Pragya Misra said, “India cannot be viewed as a single homogeneous market, particularly in the AI era, where consumer behaviour, digital maturity, trust, and accessibility vary significantly across regions and user groups. Building for scale in India requires founders to move beyond simply lowering costs and focus instead on reducing friction, simplifying onboarding, and creating intuitive, guidance-led product experiences that resonate with local users. Companies that invest in understanding India’s diverse micro-markets and evolving consumer expectations will be far better positioned to drive meaningful adoption and build scalable, AI-first businesses for the next phase of growth.”
Throughout the day, discussions explored themes such as sovereign AI infrastructure, indigenous language models, AI-led decision-making, scaling resilient consumer businesses and innovation in biotechnology and healthcare.
Commenting on the occasion, Geetika Dayal said, “Over the last 25 years, TiE Delhi-NCR has worked closely with founders at every stage of India’s startup journey, and iDay 2026 reflected how far the ecosystem has evolved in both ambition and execution. iDay 2026, themed ‘The Audacity of Now,’ reflected this by bringing together founders, investors, policymakers, scientists, and industry leaders to shape conversations around AI, DeepTech, Bharat-led innovation, and breakthrough technologies defining India’s next growth chapter. The platform was not just about discussing ideas, but about accelerating scalable, globally relevant innovation and empowering bold builders creating the future in real time. The depth of participation and quality of dialogue at this year’s edition reinforced iDay’s position as a meaningful platform driving India’s innovation momentum and strengthening the country’s role in the global technology and startup landscape.”
A key highlight of the event was the return of TiE The Knot for its 14th season, where founders pitched live to investors with real-time investment intent. The event also introduced Future Frames, an AI film festival exploring storytelling formats powered by AI tools.
Speaking on India’s AI ambitions, Vivek Raghavan said, “India’s AI journey must go beyond consumption to building foundational capabilities across models, compute, and applications. As AI becomes a strategic technology, sovereign innovation will be critical for countries with global ambitions. With India’s strong talent base and growing deep-tech ecosystem, we have a significant opportunity to build scalable, globally relevant AI solutions and play a defining role in the future of AI innovation.”
With participation from across the startup, investment and policy ecosystem, India Innovation Day 2026 continued to position itself as a platform focused on shaping conversations around India’s next phase of innovation and technology-led growth.
