17 Sept 2026 · TrustList Editorial
Startup funding in India: the 2026 guide for founders
DPIIT recognition, Startup India funds, BIRAC and NIDHI grants, state schemes such as ELEVATE and UP Startup Mission, incubators and VC…
14 startup funding programmes ranked by rating, review volume and listing quality.
Between them, the 7 best-ranked of these 14 startup funding programmes cover seed stage (3) and pre seed (2). 7 of them have written a profile you can read before you get in touch.
Pre Seed · Also in India
BIRAC's flagship grant for young biotech startups: INR 50 lakh of grant-in-aid over 18 months to take an idea to proof of concept, with mentoring through BIG Partners.
Seed Stage · Also in India
BIRAC equity fund that helps biotech startups pilot and commercialise products: partner BioNEST incubators can invest up to Rs 1 crore per startup in equity or equity-linked…
Seed Stage · Also in India
BIRAC equity fund for biotech startups past proof of concept: a first equity investment of up to INR 30 lakh, made by BioNEST incubators that act as BIRAC's SEED Fund partners.
Also in India
DPIIT's Rs 10,000 crore fund of funds, managed by SIDBI, puts money into SEBI-registered alternative investment funds that must invest at least twice that amount in startups.
Also in India
Ministry of Defence programme, run by the Defence Innovation Organisation, that funds startups, MSMEs and individual innovators who solve defence problem statements: grants of up…
Seed Stage · Also in India
DST seed funding for startups at DST-backed incubators: an incubator can receive up to INR 1000 lakh and give a startup up to INR 100 lakh.
Pre Seed · Also in India
DST prototyping grant for individual innovators and young startups, now NIDHI PRAYAS 2.0: up to Rs 20 lakh through a PRAYAS Centre, or up to Rs 40 lakh for deep-tech or advanced…
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Once a startup is funded, it has to hire. TrustList ranks the offshore firms that add developers and dedicated teams to a startup's own, by country and city.
Every other way we rank startup funding programmes — by what they do and where they are.
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17 Sept 2026 · TrustList Editorial
DPIIT recognition, Startup India funds, BIRAC and NIDHI grants, state schemes such as ELEVATE and UP Startup Mission, incubators and VC…
17 Sept 2026 · TrustList Editorial
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17 Sept 2026 · TrustList Editorial
SBIR and STTR after the 2025 lapse, NSF, NIH and DOE seed funds, SBA programmes, SSBCI, angel groups and accelerators: US startup funding…
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