Groww secured the Startup of the Year title at the 12th edition of The Economic Times Startup Awards in Bengaluru, recognized by an 11-member jury for sustaining rapid growth while achieving profitability at scale. The Economic Times reported that the event gathered more than 300 industry leaders to honor companies advancing beyond consumer internet services into technological depth and international markets.
Ministers and Executives Push for Deeptech and Global Scale
Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal, serving as guest of honour, addressed the gathering of tech founders and investors by highlighting the gap between India’s registered base of about 250,000 startups and its actual potential in specialized engineering. Goyal urged entrepreneurs to abandon the comfort of domestic consumer markets and pursue international expansion, warning that companies failing to go global risk obsolescence. Flipkart group chief executive Kalyan Krishnamurthy described the ecosystem as one of the most dynamic growth stories globally, while PhonePe cofounder and chief executive Sameer Nigam pointed to expansion into agritech, robotics, and foundational technologies.
Diverse Winners Across Consumer and Hardtech Categories
The awards recognized achievements across a wide spectrum of emerging business models and technological fields. Sauce founder and managing partner Manu Chandra collected the Midas Touch award for early-stage consumer investing, while online yoga platform Habuild won Bootstrap Champ and climatetech startup Varaha claimed the Social Enterprise prize. The Woman Ahead category featured joint winners in Palmonas cofounder and CEO Pallavi Mohadikar and Progcap cofounder and CEO Pallavi Shrivastava. Additional category winners included deeptech enterprise Theranautilus for Top Innovator, Armatrix as Best on Campus, and Mukund Jha of Emergent as Comeback Kid.
Capital Availability and Public Market Exits
Panel discussions at the Bengaluru event addressed the mechanics of funding the next generation of hardtech and artificial intelligence ventures. Groww cofounder and CEO Lalit Keshre stated that capital remains accessible for sound businesses, though private market valuations stay a central focus for investors. Meesho cofounder and CEO Vidit Aatrey predicted that global late-stage funds, which recently concentrated heavily on artificial intelligence across international markets, will soon return their focus to India. Serial entrepreneur K Ganesh noted that successful initial public offerings create a compounding effect by giving investors confidence to back capital-intensive sectors like semiconductors, space, defence, and energy.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who chaired the jury for the 12th Economic Times Startup Awards?
Wipro executive chairman Rishad Premji chaired the 11-member jury that selected the winners across all categories.
Which companies were nominated alongside Groww for Startup of the Year?
The nominees included artificial intelligence startup Sarvam, ecommerce marketplace Meesho, satellite launch vehicle manufacturer Skyroot, urban mobility service Rapido, and logistics company Porter.
Who won the Midas Touch award for early-stage investing?
Manu Chandra, founder and managing partner of venture capital firm Sauce, received the Midas Touch award for distinguished early-stage consumer investing.
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