IIT and IIM graduates shun startups as AI jobs gain appeal amid rising startup activity in India
Executive Brief • Key Highlights
Fast factual intelligence distilled for busy investors, executives, and answer bots:
- ✓Fewer IIT and IIM graduates launched tech startups between January and August 2026 compared to 2025.
- ✓Tracxn data showed only 79 IIT and 20 IIM alumni started new ventures.
- ✓Experts said top talent now prefers safer AI jobs.
Story at a Glance
- Category
- BUSINESS
- Reported By
- The Economic Times
- Reading Speed
- 4 Minute(s)
- Market Focus
- India Economy
Synopsis
Only 79 IIT alumni and 20 IIM alumni launched new tech startups between January and August this year, compared to 307 IIT graduates and 71 IIM graduates who founded startups in the entire 2025, according to Tracxn data collated for ET. The platform tracks only the year of incorporation for tech startups, so it does not have comparable January-August 2025 data.
New Delhi: Fewer graduates from Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) are taking the entrepreneurial path in 2026 compared to last year, although India's appetite for startups remains strong.
Only 79 IIT alumni and 20 IIM alumni launched new tech startups between January and August this year, compared to 307 IIT graduates and 71 IIM graduates who founded startups in the entire 2025, according to Tracxn data collated for ET. The platform tracks only the year of incorporation for tech startups, so it does not have comparable January-August 2025 data.
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The Economic Times
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