Business · Companies · 2 hrs ago
Fewer IIT and IIM alumni founded startups in India in 2026 so far
In India, 79 IIT alumni and 20 IIM alumni founded tech startups from January to August 2026.
For all of 2025, the figures were 307 IIT graduates and 71 IIM graduates, but the data does not allow a like-for-like comparison with the first eight months of 2025.
India recorded 6,353 tech startup launches through August, compared with 3,969 in all of 2025.
The figures suggest that startup activity is rising while fewer graduates from these institutes are taking the founder route so far.
AI tools and no-code software have lowered the cost of starting a company, while layoffs have made entrepreneurship a fallback for some people.
Yet some highly credentialed graduates are choosing safer jobs linked to AI, and investors still focus on whether businesses can operate sustainably.
The final 2026 founder figures are not yet known, because company incorporation can take time and the count may rise.
Tracxn data collated for the Economic Times shows that 79 IIT alumni and 20 IIM alumni founded tech startups in India from January to August 2026.
In all of 2025, 307 IIT graduates and 71 IIM graduates founded startups, but the figures are not directly comparable because January-to-August 2025 data is unavailable.
India had 6,353 tech startups founded by August 2026, compared with 3,969 in the whole of 2025.
Commentators cited the appeal of AI-related jobs and safer employment, alongside lower startup costs and layoffs, as factors shaping the choices of potential founders.
Tracxn said final incorporation figures and the 2026 founder share will be known later and may increase.
- Who
- IIT and IIM alumni founded fewer new tech startups in India during the first eight months of 2026 than the full-year 2025 totals.
- What
- Tracxn counted 79 IIT alumni and 20 IIM alumni among founders of new tech startups from January to August 2026.
- When
- January to August 2026; the article was published on October 31, 2026.
- Where
- India.
- Why
- Commentators pointed to the appeal of safer, AI-adjacent jobs, while AI and no-code tools have lowered the cost of starting ventures and layoffs have made entrepreneurship a fallback for some.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Tracxn counted 79 IIT alumni and 20 IIM alumni who founded new tech startups.
India had 6,353 tech startups founded that year and 196,704 tech startups in total, according to Tracxn.
The Economic Times published its report on the figures.
- IIT alumni founders
- 79 from January to August 2026
- IIM alumni founders
- 20 from January to August 2026
- 2025 IIT alumni founders
- 307 for the full year
- 2025 IIM alumni founders
- 71 for the full year
- Tech startups founded in 2026
- 6,353 through August
- Total tech startups
- 196,704 as of August 2026
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What people are saying
The increase in the number of startups being founded is a positive sign, but the real question is who is making that transition.
But volume isn't quality.