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IIT/IIM Founders Dip as India's Startup Scene Booms
31 Oct
Summary
- Fewer IIT and IIM graduates founded tech startups in early 2026.
- India's overall tech startup ecosystem has expanded significantly.
- AI tools and lower costs contribute to the rise in new ventures.
In early 2026, a noticeable trend emerged with fewer graduates from premier Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) opting for entrepreneurship. From January to August 2026, a mere 79 IIT alumni and 20 IIM alumni established new technology startups. This contrasts with the entire previous year when 307 IIT graduates and 71 IIM graduates initiated ventures.
This decline in founders from elite institutions occurs against a backdrop of robust growth in India's broader startup ecosystem. During the same January-August 2026 period, 6,353 technology startups were founded, a substantial increase from the 3,969 established throughout the entirety of 2025. Experts suggest that the growing accessibility of AI and no-code tools, coupled with recent industry layoffs, has lowered the barrier to entry for new businesses.
While the surge in overall startup formation is positive, the limited participation of IIT and IIM graduates highlights an underutilized talent pool. IIT alumni continue to represent a larger share of tech startup founders compared to their IIM counterparts, reflecting the engineering focus of the sector. The study included alumni from 13 IITs and 10 IIMs.
