The jury for the Economic Times Startup Awards 2026 includes several prominent figures from India’s technology and business sectors. Rishad Premji serves as executive chairman of Wipro, having joined the firm in 2007 and later establishing its venture arm focused on startups and AI solutions. Vijay Shekhar Sharma founded Paytm parent One97 Communications in 2000 and launched the payments platform in 2010, overseeing its growth into financial services before its 2021 IPO. Sachin Bansal co-founded Flipkart and now leads Navi Technologies, which offers digital banking and insurance products while he invests in other tech firms. Irina Ghose heads Anthropic India, drawing on three decades in technology including senior roles at Microsoft. Mukesh Bansal founded Myntra and Cult.fit before establishing Nurix AI to develop enterprise AI agents. Mithun Sacheti created CaratLane and recently joined Singularity Growth as a partner after selling his stake in the jewellery firm. Abhiraj Singh Bhal co-founded Urban Company, which connects users with home service providers, after working at Boston Consulting Group. Adwaita Nayar co-founded Nykaa and leads its fashion division, having expanded the platform into apparel and lifestyle products following roles at Bain and financial institutions. Ajit Mohan acts as chief business officer at Snap.
