Grand Startup Challenge 2027

The Grand Startup Challenge is a four-month competition run by CARS24 with Startup India, DPIIT and the Startup Policy Forum. It supports early-stage Indian startups addressing problems in lending and fintech, mobility and road safety, logistics and supply chain, or sovereign AI.

• The startup must be incorporated in India as a private limited company or LLP.
• At least one founder must work on the startup full-time.
• The startup must not have raised more than ₹50 crore.
• The solution must align with one of the four published challenge tracks.
• Applicants must submit a pitch deck of up to 50 MB, six months of revenue information and a two-to-five-minute founder video.

• Access to a ₹1 crore prize pool shared among the top three startups in each of four tracks.
• One month of assigned mentorship for shortlisted startups.
• Potential real-world deployment opportunities.
• Closed-door investor meetings.
• Visibility before investors, policymakers and industry leaders.
• Pitching and demonstration opportunities at the national finale.

• Applications first undergo eight yes-or-no eligibility checks.
• Two independent reviewers then score eligible applications on track fit, product evidence, team and traction.
• Shortlisted startups are interviewed and complete a mentorship and solution-refinement period.
• Finalists pitch within their track, after which track winners pitch again before the main jury.