The business case.
The business case is what you're judged on. Everything else supports it.
Validate the pain. Ship a working prototype on Replit. Pitch a venture worth funding.
One document. One bar.
Templates are guidelines, not fixed forms. Teams design their own document. the requirements below are mandatory.
Business Case
A fuller document. Content framework provided, format is the team's choice. No minimum length. Ceiling is 15 slides or 10 pages, whichever format you use. A sharp 6-slide deck that covers everything below beats a 20-page document that says the same thing twice. This template is for semi-finalists and Wild Card teams.
- 1.The Problem.Customer, pain, scale. Back it with at least one data point or customer quote.
- 2.The Business Model.Who pays, how much, why. Unit economics if you can get there. If not, a clear hypothesis.
- 3.The Market.How big is this. TAM/SAM/SOM or a simpler framing for early-stage ventures. Show you have thought about it.
- 4.The Solution.What you built. What the product does. What the core user journey looks like.
- 5.The AI Layer.What the AI specifically does in your product. Why it is central and not decorative. What breaks without it.
- 6.Customer Evidence.How many interviews you ran, what you learned, what changed in your product or business model because of what you heard.
- 7.Go-to-Market.How you would find and convert your first 100 customers.
- 8.The Team.Who you are, what each person brings, why you are the right team for this problem.
- 9.What is Next.What you would build in the next 6 months with real resources.
What evolved in the prototype, what you built, what changed in your thinking. Not optional for finalists. evaluators and jury already know what your product looked like at the pod stage.
Judges assess on the basis of:
Problem clarity
A real, urgent pain point. A specific user. A clear answer to 'why now'.
Business model
Who pays, why, and how much. A credible path to ₹10Cr ARR.
AI centrality
AI is the unlock. not a thin wrapper around an existing product.
Working prototype
Shipped on Replit, demo-able, and runs end-to-end.
Team & execution
The right team for this problem and a high speed of iteration.
In cash prizes, premium goodies, and potential VC promissory notes from confirmed Tier-1 funds.
Cash Awards
Substantial prize pool across categories
VC Promissory Notes
Real funding interest from finale judges
Premium Swag
Curated goodies for every finalist
Pick your battlefield.
Each track tackles a real, urgent problem. Choose one, validate the pain, and ship an AI solution worth pitching.
FinTech & Financial Inclusion
AI for credit underwriting in underserved segments, multilingual robo-advisory, fraud detection for UPI flows, MSME lending automation, insurance for informal-sector workers.
Why nowBajaj Finance disbursing ₹600 Cr/year via voice AI; 63M MSMEs underserved; robo-advisory at India price points still unsolved.
Healthcare & Public Health
AI diagnostics for Tier-2/3 settings, predictive triage, drug discovery tools, multilingual patient communication, mental health screening at scale.
Why nowIndia: 1 doctor per 1,000 people; Qure.ai proving the model globally; IndiaAI Mission funding healthcare AI.
Climate, Energy & Sustainability
Carbon credit verification, renewable grid optimisation, water leak detection, ESG compliance automation, precision agriculture, waste-to-resource intelligence.
Why nowSmart Cities Mission deploying AI; ₹10,000 Cr IndiaAI Mission; agri-AI at 22.5% CAGR; carbon trading regulations incoming.
GovTech & Citizen Services
AI agents for service delivery, satellite-based land use monitoring, predictive infra maintenance, grievance redressal automation, smart urban planning.
Why nowIndiaAI Governance Challenge live in Andhra Pradesh; IUDX provides open city data; IAS judges on the panel will probe implementation feasibility.
Enterprise AI & Workflow Automation
Agentic AI for HR, procurement, legal, compliance; voice AI in Indian languages; document intelligence for regulated industries; AI quality assurance.
Why nowAgentic AI is the breakout category of 2026; Indian multilingual voice AI at inflection point; enterprise demand for autonomous workflow systems.
Supply Chain & Logistics
Last-mile optimisation, demand forecasting for perishables, warehouse intelligence, cross-border trade compliance, cold chain monitoring.
Why nowIndia's logistics costs at 14% of GDP versus 8% global; quick commerce scaling fast.
EdTech & Workforce Development
Personalised learning at India price points, AI tutoring in regional languages, blue/grey-collar skilling platforms, credential verification, AI campus placement.
Why nowMost promising India AI sector per Antler; AI job postings doubled in South Asia since 2023; 22 Indian languages need AI-native content.
Cybersecurity & Trust
Deepfake detection at scale, regional-language misinformation flagging, identity verification, privacy-preserving data sharing, cyber threat intel for SMEs.
Why now51% of India Inc ranks cyber breaches as top risk per EY-FICCI; misinformation in regional languages is an urgent national problem.