.png)
The mission of Immersive Technology and Entrepreneurship Labs (ITEL) is to drive India towards sovereign technology and global leadership in at least some key technology areas. To achieve this, technology must be anchored in India's most difficult, impossible challenges.
ITEL Foundation joins hands with IndiaAI Mission and Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), for a second time, to identify, incubate, and nurture promising deep-tech AI startups across the country through a 2-Day Hackathon and Pitch Event, in partnership with IIT Gandhinagar.
Build a technical solution to a problem (on-the-spot) relevant to your domain in this 10 hour in-person Challenge
Top 20 finalists get the chance to pitch your startups to a jury of experts
Highly promising startups may win a chance at incubation by ITEL Foundation – IndiaAI Mission, and co-incubation by IIT Gandhinagar
AI Startups (0–3 years)
Student startups are not applicable
IIT Gandhinagar*
31 July – 1 August 2026
*Travel tickets for shortlisted startups will be reimbursed at actuals, not exceeding ₹10,000 per startup
The incubation program, jointly administered by ITEL Foundation and the IndiaAI Mission, will offer a comprehensive and structured nurturing process. This will include:
Incubated startups will also be eligible to apply for a grant of up to ₹20,00,000.
Submit your application using ITEL's AI-based Interactive Screening Application.
You will be required to answer some questions and attach your pitch deck.