{
  "id": 2265399,
  "title": "ET Startup Awards 2026: Nominees for Midas Touch",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/21/et-startup-awards-2026-nominees-for-midas-touch",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-08-21T00:30:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Economic Times Tech",
    "slug": "economic-times-tech",
    "url": "https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/startups/et-startup-awards-2026-nominees-for-midas-touch/articleshow/133387169.cms"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Economic Times Startup Awards are set to recognize the most lucrative exits in the year 2026, with the Midas Touch category being one of eight contenders. This prestigious award will weigh both the volume of deals and the size of the exit when determining the winner. The nominees for this coveted category are as follows:\n\n1. Shailesh Lakhani, Partner at Ambition Capital based in Bengaluru, has made strategic investments in various companies, including Zetwerk, Truecaller, Porter, Healthkart, and Ixigo. His investment journey spans over 18 years, beginning at Peak XV Partners before founding Ambition Capital.\n\n2. Manu Chandra, Managing Partner at Sauce VCA, located in New Delhi, has a knack for early bets and follow-on backing for companies displaying growth potential. His firm, Sauce VC, focuses on the consumer sector and has built a disciplined investment approach.\n\n3. Anu Hariharan, Managing Partner at Avra Capital based in San Francisco, has been instrumental in backing high-growth technology companies through successive stages of development. Notable investments include Groww and Meesho, both of which have achieved successful public listings.\n\n4. Mukesh Bansal, an Angel Investor based in Bengaluru, has a diverse investment portfolio encompassing fintech and deeptech sectors. His ventures include Groww, Skyroot Aerospace, Cred, and FirstClub, all of which have shown significant gains for Bansal's investment strategy, which involves early backing and long-term commitment to founders.",
  "summary": "The Midas Touch award recognises the most lucrative exit of the year. The decision will be based on both the number of deals and the size of the exit.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}