Titan Capital, Kae Capital, DSG Consumer Partners, Tiger VC, Trifecta Capital, Google India, 3one4 Capital and Huddle Ventures among 100+ investors who participated in India’s largest student startup showcase
Gurugram, (Haryana) [India] June 11, 2026: Eighteen student-led startups secured Rs. 4 crore in funding commitments at Masters’ Union’s Demo Day 2026, held at DLF Cyberpark, Gurugram, over the weekend. The showcase brought together more than 100 venture capital firms, angel investors and startup ecosystem leaders, representing the who’s who of India’s early-stage startup ecosystem, including Titan Capital, Kae Capital, DSG Consumer Partners, Trifecta Capital, Google India, 3one4 Capital and Huddle Ventures. Funding commitments were made within an hour of the founder pitches, with investors backing student-led ventures across AI, enterprise technology, consumer brands, mobility, hospitality, nutrition, fintech, retail innovation and education technology.
The startups that received some of the highest funding commitments included Guardex, Nexo, Crefio, Oohlala and The Malleswaram Café. Guardex is building an AI-powered digital supervisor for factories, turning CCTV footage into real-time operational intelligence to help manufacturers detect downtime, safety violations and process inefficiencies. Nexo is a relationship intelligence platform that turns fragmented networks into searchable warm introductions with a built-in personal CRM. Crefio is building 360-degree credit profiles using machine learning, data analytics and IoT to help lenders make faster and more inclusive lending decisions. Oohlala is building an intimate wear brand for mid-size and plus-size women, with a focus on engineered fits, comfort and confidence-led design. The Malleswaram Café is building a South Indian QSR concept for high-footfall pilgrimage destinations, offering fast, affordable and authentic food in locations where quality options are often limited.
The wider showcase reflected the range of businesses students are building, from enterprise AI and fintech infrastructure to consumer brands, mobility, food, hospitality and education technology. The cohort included AuditBuddy.ai, WorkflowIQ, Forecastly, Ahar.AI, Breez, Khet, Unbrand, Moshi Project, Savra, Nexo, Kalateet, Wingwoman and Balncd. Several ventures had moved beyond early prototypes before the showcase. Guardex reported Rs. 12 lakh in monthly recurring revenue and more than 250 qualified B2B leads; Crefio had closed four pilots and reported Rs. 25 lakh in monthly recurring revenue; Khet had sold more than 4,000 units; and Moshi Project had generated Rs. 52 lakh in the last six months. These early signals gave investors a clearer view of the demand behind the companies and the seriousness with which students were approaching company-building.
The participating startups were built through Masters’ Union’s ‘Venture Initiation Programme’ (VIP), a year-long venture-building track that supports students from problem discovery to market testing, product development, customer acquisition and investor readiness. The programme is structured to help students work on live businesses alongside their academic journey, with access to founders, operators, sector mentors, investors and faculty who help them refine their business models, sharpen go-to-market plans and prepare for early capital conversations.
Since inception, the Venture Initiation Programme and related entrepreneurship initiatives have supported more than 80 student startups. To date, 50 VIP-incubated startups have collectively raised over Rs. 320 crore and are projected to generate more than Rs. 530 crore in revenue by FY27. Recent examples from the ecosystem include PlaySuper, a gaming commerce startup recognised in Forbes Asia 30 Under 30 2026, and Meta Fashion, a digital fashion startup building virtual fashion experiences for gaming platforms, which recently raised approximately USD 400,000 in a pre-seed round led by Lumikai. Student-founded ventures from the Masters’ Union ecosystem have attracted backing from investors including IIFL Wealth, 100X.VC, Lumikai, Big Bets and Akshat Rathee over the last five years.
Pratham Mittal, Founder, Masters’ Union and Shark Tank India judge said, “Entrepreneurship is becoming a serious first career choice for many young people. At Masters’ Union, the share of students choosing to build startups instead of sitting for placements has grown from 7 percent in 2021 to 22 percent in 2026. The ambition is to take this to 50 percent by 2030. What stood out at Demo Day was the seriousness of student pitches. Many of them had customers, pilots, products, revenue or clear demand signals. That is what makes investors take student entrepreneurship more seriously,”
Naman, founder of Guardex, said, “Demo Day was critical for us because it brought months of customer conversations, product iterations and early execution to a room full of India’s top investors and operators. The funding gives us the capital to move faster, but equally important is the access to investors and operators who can help us think through the next stage of the business. For a student founder, that combination of capital, feedback and credibility is extremely valuable.”
“This did not look like a student startup showcase at all. The quality of pitches was in line with some of the best that I get to hear from early stage founders anywhere in the country. Many of the founders were not just pitching ideas – they were able to talk about customers, margins, distribution, hiring and product roadmap with clarity; making the conversation very real for investors. said Swapna Gupta, previously Partner at Avaana Capital and Qualcomm Ventures.
Saksham Kotiya, Head of Entrepreneurship & Investments at Masters’ Union said, “A structured approach to building in the 0-1 stage is where majority founders struggle. We ensure that entrepreneurs have a clear venture-building pathway, reducing the number of variables that can distract them from focusing on what matters most – understanding customers, building products and finding market fit.”
About Masters’ Union
Masters’ Union is a practitioner-led college in Gurugram that stands for experiential learning. It was founded in 2020 with the philosophy of hands-on learning, where students learn by doing. The leadership behind Masters’ Union consists of graduates from Stanford, Wharton, and IITs and IIMs. Unlike traditional colleges, the faculty at Masters’ Union comprises MDs, CXOs and AI experts from companies such as Amazon, Apple, IBM, McKinsey, PwC and KPMG. The institute also brings in faculty from the world’s top-ranked universities, such as Oxford and Harvard.
For more information, visit https://mastersunion.org/.
