Gift City edition – WISE Tech India Pitchathon

The Gift City edition marked the twenty-first stop of the WISE Tech India Pitchathon 2026, organised by SPJIMR WISE Tech in collaboration with Gift IFIH. The edition brought together ventures from a diverse mix of sectors. This varied representation reflected the breadth of innovation emerging from the region, with founders working on challenges spanning healthcare, elder care, climate action, technology, and the future of agriculture.

The diversity of the cohort also highlighted how technology is being applied across different parts of the economy to address both emerging and longstanding challenges. From solutions aimed at improving healthcare and eldercare to ventures focused on sustainability, AI, and agriculture, the pitches offered a broad view of the opportunities being pursued by today’s early-stage founders. The cross-sector nature of the edition also created a valuable platform for comparing different approaches to building scalable, relevant, and impact-oriented businesses.

The jury panel comprising Sachin Parikh and Manali Phatak evaluated the participating ventures on parameters including problem clarity, founder capability, execution potential, and scalability. Their interactions with the founders also provided valuable perspectives on business models, market opportunities, customer adoption, and the pathways required to take their ventures to the next stage.

The jury recognised the following start-ups:

The Gift City edition demonstrated the breadth of entrepreneurial thinking within the ecosystem, bringing together ventures at the intersection of health, technology, sustainability, and agriculture. The collaboration between SPJIMR WISE Tech and GIFT IFIH provided a platform for founders from varied sectors to showcase their solutions, engage with experienced ecosystem stakeholders, and gain perspectives to strengthen their journey ahead.