The Economic Times Startup Awards 2026: And the big winners are…

Thank you for subscribing to Morning DispatchWe'll soon meet in your inbox.

Morning DispatchThe Economic Times Startup Awards 2026: And the big winners are…

Thank you for subscribing to Morning DispatchWe'll soon meet in your inbox.

Happy Thursday! Top entrepreneurs and business leaders came together in Bengaluru on August 25 to pick the winners of The Economic Times Startup Awards (ETSA) 2026.

Today, we take great pleasure in announcing the winners of the 12th edition of India’s most coveted award for entrepreneurship.

ET Startup Awards 2026: Groww adjudged No. 1; Sauce VC’s Manu Chandra named Midas Touch winner

Online investment and wealthtech platform Groww bagged the coveted Startup of the Year award at ETSA 2026, the 12th edition of India’s most prestigious award for entrepreneurship.

In a discussion that lasted for more than three hours, a high-powered jury led by Wipro executive chairman Rishad Premji picked the company as the Startup of the Year.

Joining winners: With the win, Groww joins the likes of Urban Company, Lenskart, OfBusiness, Razorpay, Zomato, Zerodha, Delhivery, Swiggy, Oyo, Freshworks and Ola, all of which won the biggest honour over the 11-year history of the awards.

The jury analysed executional power, institution building mindset, future promise and trailblazing journeys of nominees to decide on winners. That was a demanding task given the track records and growth momentum of top contenders.

Win for deeptech: Sometimes the boldest of bets are the triggers to a whole new wave of inspiration. Members of the jury were particularly impressed with the presence of unconventional ventures aiming to solve global problems across categories that offered informed optimism about India’s tech future.

Juror Paras Chopra said, “It’s also great to see people who are still in their 20s working on deeptech. They are not just building standard companies; they are working at a fundamental technology level.”

Startup of the Year: Street-smart Groww outruns regulatory odds to claim top prize

Groww took home the most coveted honours of ETSA, the Startup of the Year prize. The star-studded jury was impressed by the fintech’s execution in a competitive, tightly regulated business, profitability, successful public listing and the ability to retain its startup DNA at scale.

The jury arrived at the decision after a long debate over six nominees: ecommerce marketplace Meesho, logistics firm Porter, spacetech startup Skyroot Aerospace, urban mobility major Rapido and sovereign AI startup Sarvam. Juror Sachin Bansal, cofounder of Flipkart and Navi, said Groww “outexecuted” everyone in the space.

“When we started Groww, the hard problem was not building another investing app; it was removing the fear and complexity that kept many Indians away. A decade later, access is only the first layer,” CEO Lalit Keshre told us.

Midas Touch: Sauce VC’s winning recipe earns Manu Chandra the prize

Sauce VC founder and managing partner Manu Chandra won the Midas Touch prize, one of the most high profile honours of ETSA. Jurors expressed strong and divergent views on the contenders, finally selecting Chandra for his record of backing companies early and delivering significant exits.