India Mobile Congress (IMC) 2026 will put DeepTech and frontier innovation at the foundation of its startup agenda when its 10th edition opens at the Yashobhoomi Convention Centre in New Delhi from October 7 to 10.
Organised jointly by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), the four-day forum is expected to bring together more than 500 startups and MSMEs alongside over 300 venture capital firms, angel networks, incubators and corporate innovation arms.
ASPIRE at the centre
The startup programme will run through IMC's flagship ASPIRE platform, which aims to help emerging firms move from prototypes to commercial scale, investment and market access. Backed by Telecom Centres of Excellence India and TiE Delhi-NCR, the initiative will coordinate over 700 curated one-on-one meetings between founders and investors.
The ASPIRE agenda will cover artificial intelligence, intelligent hardware, connectivity, semiconductors and SpaceTech. It includes masterclasses on intellectual property and legal frameworks led by experts from DPIIT and C-DOT, discussions on taking AI-first products from prototype to production, the ASPIRE Live Pitch-15, where 15 shortlisted startups will present to an investor panel, and the ASPIRE NextGen Startup Awards.
What the organisers said
Ashok Kumar, Deputy Director General at the Department of Telecommunications, said India's next phase of technology growth would depend not only on the strength of its digital infrastructure but on nurturing companies that can build globally relevant technologies from India.
Ramakrishna P., CEO of India Mobile Congress, said the goal for the 10th edition was simple: create more pathways for promising ideas to move from the drawing board to the real world.
Upasana Sharma, Executive Director of TiE Delhi-NCR, said India's next wave of founders is emerging from campuses and smaller cities, and what they need at this stage is early access to mentors, customers, networks and market opportunities.
Startup World Cup and scale
On October 9, IMC 2026 will host the second edition of the Startup World Cup India, with the national winner advancing to the Grand Finale in San Francisco to compete for a USD 1 million investment prize.
The wider forum is projected to draw over 1.5 lakh attendees from more than 100 countries, with 300 exhibitors and partners and 1,500 technology use cases.
Sources:
https://www.lokmattimes.com/busines...er-7-focusing-on-deeptech-and-startup-growth/
Organised jointly by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), the four-day forum is expected to bring together more than 500 startups and MSMEs alongside over 300 venture capital firms, angel networks, incubators and corporate innovation arms.
ASPIRE at the centre
The startup programme will run through IMC's flagship ASPIRE platform, which aims to help emerging firms move from prototypes to commercial scale, investment and market access. Backed by Telecom Centres of Excellence India and TiE Delhi-NCR, the initiative will coordinate over 700 curated one-on-one meetings between founders and investors.
The ASPIRE agenda will cover artificial intelligence, intelligent hardware, connectivity, semiconductors and SpaceTech. It includes masterclasses on intellectual property and legal frameworks led by experts from DPIIT and C-DOT, discussions on taking AI-first products from prototype to production, the ASPIRE Live Pitch-15, where 15 shortlisted startups will present to an investor panel, and the ASPIRE NextGen Startup Awards.
What the organisers said
Ashok Kumar, Deputy Director General at the Department of Telecommunications, said India's next phase of technology growth would depend not only on the strength of its digital infrastructure but on nurturing companies that can build globally relevant technologies from India.
Ramakrishna P., CEO of India Mobile Congress, said the goal for the 10th edition was simple: create more pathways for promising ideas to move from the drawing board to the real world.
Upasana Sharma, Executive Director of TiE Delhi-NCR, said India's next wave of founders is emerging from campuses and smaller cities, and what they need at this stage is early access to mentors, customers, networks and market opportunities.
Startup World Cup and scale
On October 9, IMC 2026 will host the second edition of the Startup World Cup India, with the national winner advancing to the Grand Finale in San Francisco to compete for a USD 1 million investment prize.
The wider forum is projected to draw over 1.5 lakh attendees from more than 100 countries, with 300 exhibitors and partners and 1,500 technology use cases.
Sources:
https://www.lokmattimes.com/busines...er-7-focusing-on-deeptech-and-startup-growth/
