NitiQuest 2026: PedalStart and Cesim Spotlight India’s Rising Student Startup Founders

India’s growing startup ecosystem received a major boost with NitiQuest 2026, a curated startup event jointly hosted by PedalStart and Cesim.

Held at The Den Bengaluru, the event brought together early-stage startup founders, angel investors, mentors, and ecosystem operators to support emerging entrepreneurs.

NitiQuest served as the final stage of a nationwide startup challenge that attracted more than 1,400 applications from student teams across India. After a rigorous screening process, 12 promising student-led startups were selected to pitch their ideas before a curated audience of investors.

Startup From Tier-3 City Wins Top Honor

Among the standout participants was Team Tejas, a student startup project from GIET University, which developed an autonomous aerospace defense system.

The team emerged as the winner of NitiQuest 2026 and received the Lachhwani Grant of ₹2 lakh, awarded by angel investor Vikas Lachhwani, who is also the co-founder of mCaffeine and Hyphen.

The recognition highlights the growing influence of startups emerging from Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities, where young entrepreneurs are increasingly building innovative technology solutions.

Investors and Mentors Share Insights

The day-long event began with a panel discussion titled “How to Make Real Returns from the Startup Asset Class.”

Industry experts, including Mohit Sethi, Madhusudan Rao, and Vikas Lachhwani, shared insights into evaluating early-stage startups and making high-conviction investment decisions.

Following the discussion, the selected student startups and PedalStart-accelerated companies pitched their ideas to a room filled with over 50 investors from the PedalInvest community.

The event also included four PedalStart-accelerated startups and two companies from its portfolio, creating opportunities for networking and collaboration.

Soft Funding Commitments Cross $220,000

The event resulted in soft funding commitments totaling more than $220,000 (₹2 crore) from investors who attended the pitches.

Beyond funding, founders also received real-time feedback, mentorship opportunities, and strategic guidance from experienced entrepreneurs and operators.

According to PedalStart co-founders Manas Pal and Aditya Darolia, the goal of NitiQuest is to create a platform where early ambition meets real-world startup experience.

They emphasized that supporting founders goes beyond capital and includes mentorship, networks, and ecosystem engagement.

Strengthening India’s Startup Ecosystem

NitiQuest is part of PedalStart’s broader Build Startup India initiative, which works with universities across the country to promote entrepreneurship among students.

The initiative focuses on mentoring early founders, offering grants, and helping student startups achieve early revenue traction.

Varun Patil noted that entrepreneurial thinking can be developed through practical learning, and partnerships like this provide young founders with real-world exposure.

As India’s startup ecosystem expands rapidly across cities and industries, events like NitiQuest highlight the rising wave of student entrepreneurs who are building companies even before graduating.

By connecting founders, investors, and mentors under one roof, NitiQuest 2026 showcased how collaboration and ecosystem support can help shape the next generation of Indian startups.