India has never fallen short of ambition; what is changing is the scale of ambition itself. Across sectors as varied as artificial intelligence, healthcare, deep-tech manufacturing, legal services, spiritual learning, and enterprise technology, a new wave of founders is building with unusual clarity and conviction. These entrepreneurs are beyond chasing virality or valuation alone; they are solving hard, structural problems, often drawing on decades of lived experience to do so. Whether it is making AI infrastructure accessible, turning complex engineering into certifiable global products, reimagining healthcare delivery, or simplifying systems that once felt out of reach, their work signals a deeper shift in India’s startup story. As the country looks toward 2026, these ten founders stand out for the substance behind their success and for the futures they are quietly, steadily shaping.
Alok Kumar
Alok Kumar is a technology entrepreneur with over 18 years of experience in capital markets and digital infrastructure. He began his career in equity markets, building expertise in capital allocation, risk management, and large-scale systems. Exposure to AI, blockchain, and deep-tech ecosystems led him to found Thore Network Ltd, focused on making advanced technology accessible nationally.
Through Thore Network, Alok is building AI-first digital infrastructure for India, addressing gaps in affordable compute, localized AI models, and deployment-ready platforms for enterprises and government bodies. The company has delivered early GPU-compute marketplaces and AI platforms for road safety, language technologies, and cybersecurity, and has crossed the early revenue stage. His vision is to establish Thore Network as a foundational AI infrastructure company supporting India’s AI self-reliance.
Dr. Poongodi Manoharan
Dr. Poongodi Manoharan is a technology entrepreneur and AI researcher with a doctorate in Artificial Intelligence. She brings together deep academic expertise and lived startup experience to help businesses use AI with clarity and purpose. Having navigated early-stage challenges herself, she focuses on removing inefficiency and enabling scale through practical AI systems.
She is the founder of MUNISS AI and Muniss Group, with a clear 2026 mission to help one billion businesses deploy AI for effortless growth. Dr. Poongodi has worked with multiple Fortune 500 companies and applies the same structured acceleration principles to organizations of all sizes. Her work is guided by the belief that growth without legacy holds little value. Through the MUNISS LEGACY framework, she helps entrepreneurs build lasting authority and businesses designed to endure for generations.
Anurag Asthana
Anurag Asthana “Nirmann” is a Past Life Regression Therapist, a spiritual teacher, mentor, author, and the founder of Zouddha, a global platform dedicated to personal growth and transformative learnings that blend inner potential discovery & development with practical guidance. With over 25 years of senior executive experience in Corporate America, he shifted his focus to helping individuals break through mental blocks and align their purpose with meaningful action. Through Zouddha’s courses and coaching formats, Nirmann works with learners seeking clarity of purpose, confidence, and direction in life and work. His approach combines past life regression therapy, deep spiritual/ esoteric teachings, modern mindset tools and time-tested practices to cut through confusion, inefficiency and create lasting growth.
Zouddha’s offerings aim to help users move from feeling stuck, confused and hopeless to making measurable progress toward their goals through inner clarity, freedom from entanglements and feeling confident. Nirmann’s vision for 2026 is to expand access to zouddha's transformative tools and support a global community committed to continuous self-improvement.
Pawandeep Singh Thukral
Mr. Pawandeep Singh Thukral is the founder of AKT Dryfruits – Hand Picked With Love & Care, a brand built on transparency, quality, and trust. A graduate in Economics from the University of Mumbai with a PGDBM in International Business, he brings over two decades of corporate experience to his entrepreneurial journey. Rooted in a family legacy established by his father, Late Mr. Amarjit Singh Thukral was widely known as the “King of Almonds,” Pawandeep chose to create an independent identity rather than inherit a name. AKT Dryfruits is driven by a direct-sourcing model that ensures consistency, freshness, and clear quality standards across wholesale, retail, online, and corporate gifting. Going forward, he aims to build one of India’s most trusted dry fruits brands through disciplined execution and sustainable growth.
Mohit Khanna
Mohit Khanna is a technology entrepreneur with over 17 years of experience in enterprise ERP, finance transformation, and large-scale digital programs. His career began in consulting, working closely with global enterprises and leadership teams on mission-critical systems. This exposure shaped his belief that technology should empower businesses with ownership and control.
He is the founder of Magnifia IT Solutions Pvt. Ltd., an enterprise technology company focused on stabilizing, optimizing, and evolving Microsoft Dynamics 365 environments beyond go-live. Magnifia works with mid-to-large enterprises across manufacturing, retail, banking, and services. A Microsoft Licensing Partner, the company is recognized for its outcome-driven ERP advisory and long-term client partnerships. Mohit’s vision is to evolve Magnifia into a product- and IP-led brand, enabling digital self-reliance, especially for MSMEs, while expanding its global footprint.
Kushal Chakrbrty
Kushal Chakrbrty is a legal-tech entrepreneur working at the intersection of law, technology, and business operations. His professional experience with legal professionals, founders, and MSMEs revealed how fragmented and inaccessible legal and compliance services remain in India. This insight led him to entrepreneurship with a clear focus on transparency, efficiency, and access.
He is the founder of Lawyaar.in, a legal-tech platform that simplifies legal, compliance, and professional services for individuals, startups, and growing businesses. Lawyaar bridges the gap between users seeking trustworthy legal support and qualified professionals looking for scalable opportunities. Built as an ecosystem rather than a lead marketplace, the platform emphasises pricing clarity, service tracking, and long-term trust. Kushal’s vision is to make legal and compliance services accessible at scale while empowering professionals through technology-driven growth.
Dr. Pooja Mehta
Dr. Pooja Mehta is an occupational therapist and healthcare entrepreneur with over 21 years of clinical experience across India and the United States. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Occupational Therapy from KEM Hospital, Mumbai. Her career spans work at special needs schools, adult & elderly- care private practice, and more than 17 healthcare facilities in the US, supported by over 60 specialized certifications. Driven by her childhood aspiration to build a business in healthcare, she founded Theracure Clinic nine years ago. The clinic offers integrated physiotherapy, occupational therapy, and posture care for all age groups. Known for customized, results-driven treatment, Theracure also delivers highly effective online consultations & sessions globally, with consistent year-on-year growth and an expanding care team.
Diwakar Sharma
Diwakar Sharma is a Senior Consulting Manager at NTT DATA with over two decades of experience leading large-scale digital transformation, AI, and integration programs across global enterprises. He has delivered CXO-level initiatives at organizations such as GE and NTT DATA, driving outcomes including AI-led productivity gains exceeding $40 million and managing platforms safeguarding multi-billion-dollar contracts. Alongside his corporate role, Diwakar is the founder of LegitMenToor, an AI-first initiative focused on simplifying legal awareness and practical AI adoption for everyday citizens. Through free AI education webinars and citizen-focused tools, he works to make technology approachable and humane. Known for blending enterprise execution with grassroots empathy, his leadership prioritizes clarity, usability, and purpose-driven innovation over hype.
Sushil Baranwal
Sushil Baranwal and Manya Jha are the co-founders of Morphedo, a deep-tech innovation company building certified, globally relevant technologies from India across aerospace and defence, medical devices, edge AI, and IoT systems. Sushil, an engineer-turned-entrepreneur and systems architect, brings deep expertise in translating complex engineering into reliable, compliant products. Manya, a Forbes-featured deep-tech entrepreneur, author, and global speaker, is known for shaping innovation with clarity, intent, and long-term vision. Together, they address a critical gap in India’s ecosystem: turning high-risk ideas into scalable, certifiable products. Guided by their philosophy, “Make in India and Certify for the World,” Morphedo operates as a product-architecture platform enabling IP-led, globally deployable deep-tech innovation.
Anil Kabir Kumar
Anil Kabir Kumar is the founder of Cralgo, working with founders at critical moments of growth and building long-term partnerships grounded in clarity-led execution. With nearly two decades of experience across technology, e-commerce, and D2C businesses, he has spent over fourteen years supporting founders through scale, complexity, and transition.
Cralgo operates as an extended CoE, helping founders shape their technology roadmap and align it with business goals. The platform works primarily with high-growth, digital-first companies and has gained early international recognition through participation in the India–New Zealand business delegation.
Looking toward 2026, Anil aims to build Cralgo into a trusted, go-to brand that founders turn to instinctively, with a focus on long-term partnerships, cross-market expansion, and clarity-led execution.
