Avendus Wealth Hurun India U35 List 2026 features 180 young entrepreneurs 

MUMBAI: India’s young founders are getting bigger, younger and bolder. The 2026 Avendus Wealth Hurun India U35 List recognises 180 entrepreneurs aged 35 or under, up 16 per cent from 155 last year. Their companies are together valued at Rs 48 lakh crore, up 23 per cent year-on-year. The average age has slipped to 33, one year younger than in 2025. And the number of founders building in artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI and ML) has quadrupled, from three to 12.

Mumbai, October 15, 2026: Marking the second year of partnership, Avendus Wealth and Hurun India present the 2026 edition of the Avendus Wealth Hurun India Uth Series, with the U35 List recognising 180 young leaders building and scaling businesses across India. Now in its second edition, the list reflects the expanding cohort of young business leaders making their mark across the country.

The people behind the numbers

The list is a story of self-starters. First-generation entrepreneurs account for 71 per cent of the cohort, or 127 of the 180, followed by second-generation leaders at 16 per cent, third-generation at 9 per cent and fourth-generation or later at 4 per cent. The other 53 are next-generation leaders renewing established family businesses. The weight of young entrepreneurship shows in the numbers: the cohort’s companies employ over 5.88 lakh people, up 4.5 per cent from 2025, and 37 are valued at more than $1 billion.

Umang Papneja, executive vice chairman and chief executive officer, Avendus Wealth Management, said: “The decisions that shape a business rarely begin or end with the business itself. How entrepreneurs allocate capital, pursue growth and manage risk has implications for their investments, families and the legacy they build. The U35 List offers a compelling view of the people making these decisions and the ambition shaping India’s next phase of growth.

“This year’s cohort has grown 16 per cent to 180 entrepreneurs, with a combined valuation of Rs 48 lakh crore, up 23 per cent from last year. With 71 per cent first-generation entrepreneurs and the number of founders in AI and Machine Learning growing fourfold, from 3 to 12, the list reflects the breadth of enterprise creation underway in India.

“At Avendus, we work closely with entrepreneurs through the lifecycle of their businesses, from raising growth capital and accessing financial markets to managing and transitioning wealth across generations. At Avendus Wealth, we take a multidimensional approach, recognising that wealth extends beyond investments to encompass business interests, family priorities and the aspirations of successive generations. Understanding how this next generation approaches capital, growth and wealth creation will be increasingly important as these entrepreneurs shape the future of Indian enterprise.”

AI, deeptech and clean energy arrive

The biggest shift is technological. AI and ML representation rose fourfold, from three to 12, and the cohort includes Aravind Srinivas (32) of Perplexity and Ashwin Sreenivas (31) of Decagon AI, alongside 2026 debutants Mayank Bhola (34) of TestMu AI and three co-founders of Flam. AI and ML is now the fourth-largest industry on the list. Deeptech and hardtech account for 21 founders, about one in every nine on the list: AI and ML (12), spacetech (four), aerospace and defence (three) and cybersecurity (two).

Clean energy and renewables has seven founders, including Chirag Nakrani (33) and Hardik Kothiya (32), co-founders of Rayzon Solar, and Neelesh Garg (34) and Manik Garg (31), co-founders of Saatvik Green Energy. Software products and services remains the most represented industry with 18 entrepreneurs, followed by fintech with 17 and education and edtech with 15.

Women, youth and experience

Twenty-three women feature on the 2026 list, or 12.8 per cent of the cohort, up from 9.7 per cent in 2025, a 53 per cent rise in women’s representation. They comprise 12 next-generation leaders and 11 first-generation founders. Romita Mazumdar (31), founder of Foxtale, is the youngest woman on the list, while Anmol Bhansali (31), managing director of Goldiam International, is the youngest leader overall. At the other end, Ayush Sinhal (35), co-founder of Kimbal, is the most seasoned founder, with 15 years of entrepreneurial experience.

Where the founders live and learn

Bengaluru retains its crown with 52 entrants, followed by Mumbai with 30 and New Delhi with 25. Gurugram has 14, while San Francisco and Ahmedabad have 10 each. By state, Karnataka leads with 53 entrepreneurs, followed by Maharashtra with 35 and Delhi with 25. Eleven entrants come from non-metro cities such as Surat, Indore, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Nashik and Mohali.

IIT Delhi leads the undergraduate table with 11 alumni, followed by IIT Kharagpur with 10, and IIT Madras and the University of Delhi with seven each. IIT Madras and the Indian School of Business top the postgraduate rankings with five alumni each, followed by IIT Bombay with four.

Jobs, funding and reach

The cohort’s workforce is concentrated at the top. Reliance Retail Ventures is the largest employer with 2,47,782 employees, followed by Jio Platforms with 90,067, Shapoorji Pallonji and Company (33,000), OfBusiness (30,000) and Svatantra Microfin (24,594). The top five together account for over 72 per cent of the cohort’s workforce, and Reliance Retail Ventures alone accounts for roughly two in five of all jobs.

On capital, listed companies account for 40 U35-led businesses, the largest group by funding stage, followed by Series B with 23. Wint Wealth, co-founded by Abhik Patel (35), Ajinkya Kulkarni (35), Anshul Gupta (35) and Shashank Chimaladari (35), is the most investor-backed startup with 52 investors, followed by Perplexity (48) and Jar (45). Companies are putting money to work on growth: 27 per cent of funds goes to product development and expansion and 23 per cent to market and geographic expansion, together half of all capital allocation. Reliance Retail Ventures leads funding with $7.41 billion raised, followed by PRISM (OYO) with $3.71 billion and Perplexity with $1.6 billion.

In digital reach, Ritesh Agarwal of PRISM (OYO) tops the list with 14.97 lakh LinkedIn followers, followed by Aravind Srinivas (32) with 9.08 lakh.

India, China and the UK

Hurun’s U35 lists across three markets have featured 343 entrepreneurs under 35: 180 from India, 101 from China and 62 from the UK. The UK leads in first-generation entrepreneurs at 85 per cent, followed by India at 71 per cent and China at 63 per cent. India leads on women with 23, followed by China with 21 and the UK with 10. Bengaluru, Beijing and London are the leading headquarters cities, and software products and services leads in both India and China.

What Hurun India says

Anas Rahman Junaid, founder and chief researcher, Hurun India, said: “The Avendus Wealth Hurun India U35 List 2026 puts a number to the economic weight of young entrepreneurship: 180 leaders whose businesses employ over 5.88 lakh people, including 37 companies valued at more than $1 billion.”

“The composition is equally revealing. First-generation founders account for 71 per cent of the cohort, while 53 next-generation leaders are renewing established businesses. India’s entrepreneurial capacity is expanding through both new enterprise creation and the transformation of family businesses.”

“AI and machine-learning entrants have risen fourfold, alongside founders building in space, defence and manufacturing. This points to an ambition to own technology and products, serve international markets and capture more of the value they create.”

“The U30 list tells us where businesses begin; the U35 list shows how far they can grow. The next economic test is whether that scale delivers sustained productivity, profitable growth and skilled employment. This cohort gives India a substantial foundation to build on.”

“We thank Avendus Wealth for its continued partnership in recognising the entrepreneurs shaping India’s economic future,” concluded Junaid.

The 180 honourees

1. Sagar Adani (32), Adani Green Energy
2. Tapan Agarwal (31), Agarwal Coal
3. Rishabh Desai (34), Apar Industries
4. Rahul Gupta (32), APL Apollo Tubes
5. Saumya Engineer (34), Astral
6. Prukalpa Sankar (34), Atlan
7. Varun Banka (35), Atlan
8. Amit Dangi (35), Authum Investment & Infrastructure
9. Venkata Sanjeev Alluri (35), Avanti Feeds
10. Aditya Bagmane (34), Bagmane Developers
11. Avantika Saraogi (35), Balrampur Chini Mills
12. Shiven Akshay Arora (32), Blue Jet Healthcare
13. Bhaswat Agarwal (35), Classplus
14. Mukul Rustagi (35), Classplus
15. Aditya Kumar Halwasiya (32), Cupid
16. Ashwin Sreenivas (31), Decagon AI
17. Ishendra Agarwal (33), GIVA
18. Ruchir Modi (32), Godfrey Phillips India
19. Shom Hinduja (35), Hinduja Group
20. Azhar Iqubal (33), Inshorts
21. Deepit Purkayastha (35), Inshorts
22. Raghav Gupta (33), Jakson Infra
23. Akash Ambani (34), Jio Platforms
24. Thomas Mathew (33), Joyalukkas
25. Akshit Gupta (34), KEI Industries
26. Vikas Goyal (32), Kuku FM
27. Vinod Kumar Meena (34), Kuku FM
28. Kartheeswaran K K (35), Ninjacart
29. Adwaita Nayar (35), Nykaa
30. Anchit Nayar (35), Nykaa
31. Vasant Sridhar (35), OfBusiness
32. Aravind Srinivas (32), Perplexity
33. Alakh Pandey (34), Physics Wallah
34. Harikrishna Ramesh Valiyath (32), Pixis
35. Vrushali Prasade (32), Pixis
36. Nishanth K S (34), Pocket FM
37. Rohan Nayak (34), Pocket FM
38. Ritesh Agarwal (32), PRISM (OYO)
39. Rishikesh S R (34), Rapido
40. Aravind Sanka (35), Rapido
41. Pavan Guntupalli (35), Rapido
42. Harshil Mathur (35), Razorpay
43. Isha Ambani (34), Reliance Retail Ventures
44. Manik Garg (31), Saatvik Green Energy
45. Neelesh Garg (34), Saatvik Green Energy
46. Bahirji A Ghorpade (31), Sandur Manganese & Iron Ores
47. Praharsh Chandra (34), Shadowfax
48. Vaibhav Khandelwal (34), Shadowfax
49. Abhishek Bansal (35), Shadowfax
50. Neetish Sarda (33), Smartworks
51. Ramanshu Mahaur (34), Spinny
52. Kaviya Kalanithi Maran (34), Sun TV Network
53. Ananya Birla (32), Svatantra Microfin
54. Divyansh Bordia (33), Teachmint
55. Mihir Gupta (34), Teachmint
56. Payoj Jain (34), Teachmint
57. Aman Mehta (35), Torrent Pharmaceuticals
58. Aneesha Gandhi Tewari (35), USV
59. Dhruv Jain (31), Varroc Engineering
60. Vanshika Goenka (32), Welspun Living
61. Siddharth Sikka (35), Battery Smart
62. Rishabh Goel (32), Credgenics
63. Anand Agrawal (32), Credgenics
64. Nikita Doshi (33), Echjay Industries
65. Nityangi Kejriwal Jaiswal (35), Electrosteel Castings
66. Sukriti Sachdeva (34), Eleven
67. Karan Chopra (35), Eleven
68. Aditya Virwani (32), Embassy Developments
69. Nitin Jayakrishnan (32), Freehand
70. Rithika Mohan (33), Garuda Aerospace
71. Nilesh Kanubhai Thakkar (31), Gokul Agro Resources
72. Anmol Bhansali (31), Goldiam International
73. Aatish Jain (31), Goldmedal Electricals
74. Akshit Jain (33), Goldmedal Electricals
75. Hitarth Dholakia (32), Hari Krishna Exports
76. Misbah Ashraf (32), Jar
77. Shiwangi Sinhal (32), Kimbal
78. Anirudh Sinhal (33), Kimbal
79. Ayush Sinhal (35), Kimbal
80. Madhur Gupta (35), Lloyds Metals & Energy
81. Manan P Shah (34), Man Infraconstruction
82. Dhvanil Gandhi (33), MAS Financial Services
83. Mohal Lalbhai (35), MATTER
84. Suvir Bector (31), Mrs Bectors Food Specialities
85. Hardik Kothiya (32), Rayzon Solar
86. Chirag Nakrani (33), Rayzon Solar
87. Apoorv Kumar (35), Refyne
88. Lakshay Dang (33), Sagar Defence Engineering
89. Mridul Babbar (34), Sagar Defence Engineering
90. Pallon Mistry (34), Shapoorji Pallonji And Company
91. Rajan Bajaj (33), Slice
92. Rohan Gupta (35), smallcase
93. Vasanth Kamath (35), smallcase
94. Aayush Agarwal (31), Snabbit
95. Shivani Satish Wagh (34), Supriya Lifescience
96. Mayank Bhola (34), TestMu AI
97. Vijay Murugesh Nirani (33), TruAlt Bioenergy
98. Akshay Jatia (34), Westlife Foodworld
99. Karan Virwani (34), WeWork India
100. Mohak Nahta (32), Atlys
101. Jay Vijay Shirke (33), BG Shirke Construction Technology
102. Chaitanya Rathi (33), Bijnis
103. Siddharth Vij (34), Bijnis
104. Shivam Shahi (35), Blue Tokai
105. Daniel Raj David (31), Detect Technologies
106. Harikrishnan Arangali Shaji (32), Detect Technologies
107. Radhika Ambani (31), Encore Healthcare
108. Keshav Reddy (34), Equal AI
109. Arun Vinayak (35), Exponent Energy
110. Alekh Sanghera (35), FarMart
111. Mehtab Singh Hans (35), FarMart
112. Abhishek Agarwal (32), Farmley
113. Shourya Agarwal (31), Flam
114. Malhar Patil (32), Flam
115. Amit Gaiki (32), Flam
116. Romita Mazumdar (31), Foxtale
117. Raunak Bhinge (35), Infinite Uptime
118. Sanket Shah (35), InVideo AI
119. Arjun Ahluwalia (34), Jai Kisan
120. Manav Subhashchandra Patel (32), Kody Technolab
121. Sanjay Kidecha (33), Kody Technolab
122. Manali K Patel (35), Kody Technolab
123. Yashvardhan Patil (35), Kolte-Patil Developers
124. Amrit Singh (31), Loop Health
125. Shreyans Chopra (32), Mstack
126. Nirav Bajaj (35), Mukand
127. Nishant Chandra (34), Newton School
128. Siddharth Maheshwari (34), Newton School
129. Anupam Pedarla (32), NxtWave
130. Rahul Attuluri (35), NxtWave
131. Sandeep Singh (31), ProjectDiscovery
132. Harsha Reddy Ponguleti (32), Raghava Constructions India
133. Milan Pal Singh (32), Von
134. Apoorva Verma (35), Von
135. Adrija Agarwal (32), Sattva Group
136. Sachin Santhosh (34), Scimplify
137. Dheeraj Dhingra (34), Scimplify
138. Keertay Agarwal (31), Seekho
139. Yash Banwani (31), Seekho
140. Rohit Choudhary (33), Seekho
141. Anirudh Sharma (35), Third Wave Coffee
142. Ayush Bathwal (35), Third Wave Coffee
143. Sushant Goel (35), Third Wave Coffee
144. Parita Parekh (34), Toddle
145. Yeshu Agarwal (31), Transak
146. Ashutosh Mishra (35), Wiom
147. Kirti Jangra (32), Animall Technologies
148. Yashas Karanam (31), Bellatrix Aerospace
149. Rohan M Ganapathy (33), Bellatrix Aerospace
150. Minu Margaret (32), BlissClub
151. Ankit Prasad (35), Bobble AI
152. Biswatma Nayak (34), Chingari
153. Aalesh Avlani (32), Credit Wise Capital
154. Gaurav Parchani (34), Dozee
155. Mudit Dandwate (34), Dozee
156. Saurav Bhagat (31), Drivetrain
157. Suumit Shah (35), Dukaan
158. Aditya Singh (33), Eggoz
159. Abhishek Negi (34), Eggoz
160. Suyash Singh (35), GalaxEye
161. Denil Chawda (31), GalaxEye
162. Naveesh Reddy (35), LEO1
163. Pratham Mittal (35), Masters’ Union
164. Pulkit Baldev (32), Metalbook
165. Pranav Relan (34), NDR Auto Components
166. Ayush Relan (34), NDR Auto Components
167. Shanay Shah (35), Shalby Hospitals
168. Apurv Agrawal (35), SquadStack
169. Parveen Singhal (32), STAGE
170. Shashank Vaishnav (35), STAGE
171. Trishneet Arora (32), TAC Security
172. Keshav Biyani (32), The Good Bug
173. Avneet Dhamija (33), Univest
174. Bala Sarda (34), Vahdam India
175. Saurav Swaroop (34), Velocity
176. Rahul Joseph (32), White Gold
177. Abhik Patel (35), Wint Wealth
178. Ajinkya Kulkarni (35), Wint Wealth
179. Anshul Gupta (35), Wint Wealth
180. Shashank Chimaladari (35), Wint Wealth

About the methodology

To qualify, individuals must be 35 or younger, with a minimum business valuation of $50 million for first-generation entrepreneurs and $100 million for those from second-generation backgrounds and beyond.