ET Startup Awards: Nominees for Best on Campus

The 12th edition of The Economic Times Startup Awards has announced the nominees for the Best on Campus category. This prestigious accolade recognizes startups whose impact can be measured by both their innovative ideas and successful execution. The founders must be students, aiming to build a commercial enterprise, with some level of validation, such as an investor or customer, backing their venture.

The nominees hail from various Indian cities and boast a diverse range of groundbreaking technologies. Qosmic, founded in 2025 by Shreyaans Jain, Rohit Ramakrishnan, and Aloke Kumar, is based in Bengaluru. This spacetech startup is tackling the issue of data bottlenecks between space and earth. Their cutting-edge technology aims to enable satellites to transmit data faster and in larger volumes, benefiting earth observation, defense, and other space missions. Qosmic has secured key investments from Prosus, Accel, and South Park Commons.

Armarix, established in 2024 by Vishrant Dave, Ayush Ranjan, and Prateesh Awasthi, also resides in Bengaluru. This innovative company constructs snake-like robotic arms designed to navigate through cramped and hazardous industrial spaces where traditional robots and workers face challenges. These versatile systems are set to find applications across aviation, oil and gas, and nuclear industries. Armarix has garnered backing from Pi Ventures, gradCapital, Boundless Ventures, and Inuka Capital.

Panoculon Labs, founded in 2023 by Rishabh Sharma and Sreeraj R, is yet another Bengaluru-based startup. Their core focus lies in building vision hardware for robots and AI systems. The Trinet device they have developed captures first-person visual data, crucial for training autonomous robots. Panoculon Labs is further expanding its horizons by creating AI-powered smart glasses for visually impaired users and enterprise applications.

They have received support from the IIT-Madras Incubation Cell, ITEL Foundation, and India Accelerator.

Dream Aerospace, a Bengaluru-based startup founded in 2022 by Hari Krishnan KJ and Rogith Srinivasan, is another notable nominee. They specialize in developing propulsion systems for satellites, enabling them to maintain their position in orbit and extend their operational life. Dream Aerospace's green-propellant technology is a cleaner alternative to conventional satellite propulsion systems and is initially targeted at the rapidly growing low earth orbit satellite market. They have secured investments from 247VC, Campus Angels Network, and Chandigarh Angel Network.

Lastly, Plenome Technologies, founded in 2023 by Prabhu Rajagopal, Anirudh Varna, and Vijayaraja R, calls Chennai home. This innovative company builds AI infrastructure that allows companies to train and deploy AI models on sensitive data without transmitting the data outside their systems. Plenome Technologies has also designed specialized AI applications, including Ashwin AI, a multilingual voice copilot designed to assist doctors with clinical documentation and data capture. Plenome Technologies has received backing from Ovington Capital Partners and SIDBI.