Bharat Innovates 2026 concluded in Nice, marking the completion of three days of technology showcases, business meetings, investor pitching and institutional engagements involving participants from India, France and across the world.

Addressing the Valedictory Session, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Shri Piyush Goyal described the inaugural edition of Bharat Innovates as a significant milestone and highlighted the role of India’s higher education ecosystem in nurturing research-led innovation and entrepreneurship.

Referring to the India-France Year of Innovation 2026, the Minister said the initiative reflected the shared vision of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and President Emmanuel Macron and could develop into a transformational platform for future cooperation.

Calling upon startups, innovators, researchers and students to pursue global opportunities, Shri Goyal said, “The world is your stage.” He observed that Bharat Innovates marked the beginning of a new chapter in promoting innovation and reaffirmed India’s growing role as a global technology and startup hub.

Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India, Prof. Ajay Kumar Sood, presented the key outcomes of the Summit. He said Bharat Innovates had demonstrated the possibilities created when government, academia, industry, investors and international partners work together with a shared purpose. He added that while the summit had concluded, the process of accelerating Indian innovation had only begun.

An initiative of the Government of India implemented by the Ministry of Education, Bharat Innovates was organised to connect innovations emerging from India’s higher education, research and startup ecosystem with global investors, corporations, customers, research institutions and markets.

The Summit showcased 120 curated Indian DeepTech innovators and around 45 technology projects from 15 premier Indian higher education institutions. Nearly 60 per cent of the participating startups were incubated in or were closely associated with the IITs, IISc and other leading Indian institutions.

More than 2,000 participants attended the summit, including over 500 French investors, corporate leaders, CXOs, researchers, innovators and institutional representatives, with participation from 29 countries.

The three-day summit facilitated:

• 1,350+ B2B meetings involving startups, investors, corporates and institutional partners;
• 50+ collaboration agreements across industry, academia, research and incubation;
• Pitches by 80+ startups before over 50 global investors from more than 10 countries;
• Confirmed investor follow-up commitments for more than 40 startups; and
• Approximately USD 254.5 million in funding commitments and advanced-stage investments involving Bharat Innovates innovators including from investors from US and Japan.

Several participating startups also received confirmed orders and expressions of interest from French and other international buyers, opening new opportunities for customer acquisition, international market entry and commercial partnerships.

The final day featured focused discussions on technology parks and accelerators, industrial decarbonisation and global scale-up. The programme also included an address by Co-Founder, Nothing, Mr. Akis Evangelidis, on technology entrepreneurship, product development and international growth.

Across three days, the summit hosted engagements covering artificial intelligence, semiconductors, biotechnology, MedTech, space, defence and dual-use technologies, advanced manufacturing, energy, climate technologies and global DeepTech investment.

Parallel investor pitch rooms, startup masterclasses, technology demonstrations and curated meetings enabled direct engagement with venture funds, corporate venture capital firms, global corporations, universities, research institutions and incubators.

The Summit also strengthened institutional partnerships between India and France, creating new pathways for joint research, startup acceleration, talent exchange, technology commercialisation and international market access.

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi in his inaugural speech, had emphasized that innovation was the next chapter of human civilization. In this direction, Bharat Innovates 2026 has advanced the objectives of the India-France Year of Innovation and strengthened India’s engagement with global innovation networks, while laying the foundation for sustained collaboration in frontier technologies.

For further information on Bharat Innovates 2026 and the participating innovators, visit www.bharatinnovates.in.

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RRTN