Conquest, BITS Pilani

Announcing Creative Nexus as a Consultation Partner for Conquest '26. Creative Nexus is a 360° digital marketing and creative agency founded in 2016 by Ex-BCGer K. Prabhu, built around the belief that great brands are built at the intersection of compelling storytelling and sharp strategy. From branding and identity to video production, pitch decks, website development, SEO, and paid marketing, Creative Nexus delivers end-to-end creative solutions for startups, SMEs, and Fortune 500 companies alike, with clients including Accenture, Tata Motors, Johnson & Johnson, and Stanza Living. With nearly a decade of experience and a reputation for transforming complex ideas into clean, investor-ready narratives, K. Prabhu and his team bring both the creative firepower and strategic clarity that founders need to stand out. Conquest is Asia's largest student-run startup accelerator. With Creative Nexus as our Consultation Partner, our Conquest '26 founders get access to a team that knows exactly how to take a great idea and make the world pay attention to it.

Announcing @Razorpay (Razorpay rise) as an Ecosystem Partner for Conquest '26. Razorpay Rize is a startup program built to empower founders through vibrant communities, dedicated programs, and incorporation services. Launched in 2021, it brings together three founder communities spanning over 1,600 startups across Tech, D2C/eCommerce, and Exports, each offering founder networks, curated deals, and industry expert insights. Rize members get access to targeted programs like Rize for YC, offering Y Combinator application reviews, mock interviews, and L&D sessions, and Rize Pitch Perfect, helping founders craft a winning story and pitch deck for investors. Beyond community and ecosystem programs, Rize also offers seamless company registration for Private Limited, LLP, and OPC entities, backed by dedicated tools and resources. Website : razorpay.com/rize/ Conquest is Asia's largest student-run startup accelerator. With Razorpay Rize as our Ecosystem Partner, our founders get plugged into one of India's most active and resourceful startup communities, right from the ground up.

Announcing @Razorpay (Razorpay Ventures) as an Investment Partner for Conquest '26. Razorpay Ventures is the investments arm of Razorpay, backing early-stage B2B AI and FinTech startups from pre-seed to Series A with cheques of up to $1M, in partnership with top-tier VC firms Peak XV Partners and Lightspeed. Launched in early 2025, it goes well beyond capital, giving portfolio founders direct access to Razorpay's tech stack and sandbox, its large merchant base, and hands-on mentorship from one of India's most battle-tested fintech teams. With 15+ investments already made across India and the USA, Razorpay Ventures is on a mission to keep backing strong founders building companies that enable commerce, money flow, and the future of business finance. Conquest is Asia's largest student-run startup accelerator. With Razorpay Ventures as our Investment Partner, our founders get access to not just capital, but the infrastructure, network, and

Announcing @Zoho as a Resource Partner for Conquest '26 Zoho is one of the world's leading providers of cloud software for businesses, trusted by millions of companies from ambitious early-stage startups to global enterprises across every major industry. Founded in 1996 by @svembu with a singular mission to make powerful business software accessible and affordable for everyone, Zoho powers CRM, finance, HR, marketing, and complete business operations for organizations in 180+ countries, serving over 100 million users worldwide. For startups in particular, Zoho is the gold standard, offering an integrated suite of 55+ applications spanning sales, finance, collaboration, and IT, everything a founder needs to run and scale a business without stitching together dozens of disconnected tools. Conquest is Asia's largest student-run startup accelerator. With Zoho as our Resource Partner, our founders get access to the very infrastructure that the world's fastest-growing companies are built on.

Announcing Tigerfeathers as the Silver Sponsor for Conquest'26. Tigerfeathers is one of India's most distinctive publications a Substack-native newsletter with tens of thousands of subscribers around the world, built around deeply researched, beautifully written stories at the intersection of Indian history, business, and technology. Founded by @RahulSanghi1 and @AaryamanVir, it has earned a reputation as the gold standard for long-form storytelling from within India's startup ecosystem, covering companies, founders, and ideas the way they deserve to be covered: inside-out, guided by genuine curiosity, and blending serious intellectual rigour with unserious humour. From essays on iconic Indian companies like PopVax, Pixxel, and Airbound, to canonical pieces on IndiaStack and Indian Mapping, to cultural deep-dives on Maggi and the Indian Ice Trade, Tigerfeathers has become essential reading for India's smartest founders, investors, and operators. Conquest is Asia's largest student-run startup accelerator. With Tigerfeathers as our Silver Sponsor, the stories coming out of Conquest '26 will be told by people who actually know how to tell them.

Announcing ViSURE Investment Affairs as a Gold Sponsor for Conquest '26. ViSURE Investment Affairs is a new-age investment advisory and deal facilitation firm bridging the gap between India's high-growth startups and the country's most influential pools of patient capital, including family offices, HNIs, and institutional investors. Led by MD & CEO Anish Maheshwari, ViSURE brings a sharp, long-term lens to startup investing, backing founders who are building businesses with strong fundamentals, sustainable models, and genuine governance rather than chasing growth at any cost. At a time when family offices are emerging as one of the most significant forces in India's startup funding landscape, ViSURE sits at the centre of that shift, connecting the right capital to the right founders at the right stage. Conquest is Asia's largest student-run startup accelerator. We're proud to have ViSURE Investment Affairs on board as a Gold Sponsor for Conquest '26.

13 startups. 40+ investors. 300+ founders, VCs, operators & media professionals. Watch India's next generation of startups pitch live, hear from industry leaders, and network with the startup ecosystem at Conquest Demo Day 2026. 📅 26 July (Sunday) ⏰ 10:00 AM onwards 📍 Radisson Blu Atria, Bengaluru 🎟️ Limited passes available. 🔗Register now: luma.com/wzi1ewzg #Conquest2026 #DemoDay #Startups

Early-stage startups benefit immensely from having the right investors and ecosystem leaders in their corner at the right time 🚀 At Conquest, founders gain access to investors and startup ecosystem experts who bring firsthand experience evaluating, backing, and supporting early-stage companies. Through fundraising mentorship and valuable feedback, they help founders sharpen their vision, avoid common pitfalls, and prepare for the next stages of growth. We’re excited to introduce the investment mentors who will be guiding the Conquest 2026 cohort through the accelerator journey: - Siddharth Dhankhar - Principal at Lightbox - Chirag Thakker - Managing Partner at Middha Ventures - Aakash Shankar - Investment Analyst at @A91Partners - Alben D Souza - Investment Analyst at @Zeropearlvc - Ishaan Bhattacharya - Associate Vice President at Capital 2B - Rajeev Manjrekar - Managing Partner at @datakatalyst From fundraising readiness and investor positioning to growth strategy and long-term value creation, these mentors will work closely with founders throughout the accelerator. #ConquestForStartups #MakeAMark #InvestmentMentors

The Conquest '26 Fireside Chat Series is off to a strong start. On Sunday, our founders had the opportunity to engage with @ultasawaal (Rahul Seth), Founder & General Partner at @industrial47, for an insightful conversation on navigating the brutal realities of scaling a startup & raising capital. The session was packed with candid stories, practical frameworks, and honest advice drawn from Rahul's experience as both a founder and an investor, giving our cohort plenty to reflect on as they begin building over the coming months. With many more conversations, workshops, and mentorship sessions lined up, we're excited for everything that's ahead. The journey has only just begun. 🚀 #ConquestForStartups #MakeAMark #AMA #Industrial47

Excited to begin the Conquest '26 Fireside Chat series this Sunday 🚀 Our first session is an AMA featuring @ultasawaal (Rahul Seth), Founder & General Partner at @industrial47 As one of the leading voices in India's deeptech ecosystem, Rahul has backed companies like Pixxel, FamPay & many more. He works closely with some of the country's most ambitious technology founders, making him uniquely placed to share practical insights on building enduring companies. Looking forward to a great conversation and an exciting start to the cohort's fireside series! @PixxelSpace | @FamAppByTrio | @PranosFusion | Rekise Marine | @ArmoryShield | @Digantarahq | @flamappofficial | @piersightspace | @anthriq #ConquestForStartups #MakeAMark #FiresideChat #Industrial47

Announcing @VerSe_Corporate as the Startup Impact Partner for Conquest '26. VerSe Innovation is India's first tech unicorn focused on local languages, powering 350 million+ users across its two flagship platforms, Dailyhunt and Josh. Founded in 2007 and headquartered in Bengaluru, VerSe has built proprietary AI and machine learning infrastructure that personalises content in 14 Indian languages at scale, bridging the digital divide for the next billion users. Backed by Google, Microsoft, ByteDance, Sequoia Capital, and CPP Investments among others, VerSe has raised over $1.9 billion and stands as one of India's most consequential content technology companies, demonstrating what it looks like to build for Bharat without compromise. Conquest is Asia's largest student-run startup accelerator. With VerSe Innovation on board as our Startup Impact Partner, we're bringing in a team that has lived the journey from zero to unicorn and knows exactly what it takes to build at scale.

Announcing @newsreachindia as the PR Partner for Conquest '26. NewsReach is India's leading PR tech platform, built to give brands precision and scale in their media outreach. Through a single tech platform, it enables press releases, sponsored content, podcasts, and authored articles across a network of 2000+ publications, including the Times of India, Hindustan Times, and Zee Media. It has served 1000+ clients ranging from early-stage startups to names like AWS, BMW, and HSBC, and recently won the ET Kaleido Award 2026 for Best Startup Campaign. Backed by Hindustan Times Media Ventures, Zee Growth Capital, and IIMA Ventures, NewsReach is built specifically to give startups and growing businesses the kind of media presence that was once reserved for large enterprises. Conquest is Asia's largest student-run startup accelerator. With NewsReach as our PR Partner, the breakthroughs coming out of Conquest '26 will land in the right newsrooms.

Announcing @TechStoryin as a Media Partner for Conquest '26. TechStory is one of India's leading digital media platforms covering the startup and technology landscape, with regular coverage across AI, crypto, EVs, funding, and emerging tech. From founder profiles to industry deep-dives, TechStory keeps India's builder community informed and connected. With a readership that spans entrepreneurs, investors, and tech enthusiasts, TechStory sits right at the intersection of the stories being built and the people building them. Conquest is Asia's largest student-run startup accelerator. With TechStory on board, the stories coming out of Conquest '25 will reach exactly the audience they deserve.

Announcing ThePrint as the Digital Outreach Partner for Conquest '26. ThePrint is a news, analysis, opinion, and knowledge platform launched in August 2017 by veteran journalist Shekhar Gupta, sharply focused on politics, policy, governance, and social and cultural change. Today, it has grown into the most-read and most-watched news space among India's new digital platforms, built on a mission of high-quality, fair, and questioning journalism. Backed by some of India's most prominent names including Ratan Tata, Nandan Nilekani, and Uday Kotak, ThePrint carries the credibility of print journalism with the reach of digital, spanning web, video, podcasts, and multilingual editions across Hindi, Tamil, and Marathi. Conquest is Asia's largest student-run startup accelerator. With ThePrint as our Digital Outreach Partner, the stories coming out of Conquest '26 reach an audience that reads with intent.