Inside IIMB’s startup incubation journey; Deeptech funding to gather momentum in 2026

Four Indian-origin entrepreneurs have made it to Forbes’ ‘40 under 40’ list of the world’s self-made billionaires. Their combined net worth tops $11 billion. Nikhil Kamath, Co-founder of Zerodha, is the only entrepreneur from India to make it to the list.

ICYMI: India’s oldest, youngest, biggest unicorns likely to go public in 2026

Moving on, remember Barbenheimer? The pop culture phenomenon that surrounded the theatrical release of two major studio films—Barbie by Warner Bros. Pictures and Oppenheimer by Universal Pictures—in 2023.

Three years later, it’s time for Wutherssey, with Emerald Fennell’s Wuthering Heights and Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey being released just months apart. Here are the other exciting films coming up in 2026.

Speaking of cultural phenomena, here’s a list of the ‘word of the year’ (2020-2025), according to various dictionaries. If the year 2020 was dominated by words like ‘pandemic’ and ‘lockdown’, the year 2025 saw the emergence of ‘vibe-coding’ and ‘slop’.

What do you think will be the word of the year for 2026? So far, our bet is on the slightly derogatory word ‘clanker’ used for robots and AI. While the word became popular last year, it might get into mainstream use in 2026 driven by anxiety and fear around AI taking over jobs. 

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• Inside IIM Bangalore’s startup incubation journey
• Deeptech funding to gather momentum in 2026

Here’s your trivia for today: What mass market tea brand shares a name with an English brewery?

Education

Inside IIM Bangalore’s startup incubation journey

At IIM Bangalore, NSRCEL, the institute’s startup and entrepreneurship centre, has spent years learning how to guide young ideas while figuring out how to evolve itself.

Over a long, candid conversation with YourStory, Anand Sri Ganesh, CEO of NSRCEL, describes the centre’s evolution from a mentor-led hub into an attempt to codify and share the methods of incubation. He says the centre’s work is now split between refining its own operating model and contributing to the wider ecosystem beyond IIM Bangalore.

Key takeaways:

• NSRCEL’s strength, as Ganesh and several alumni emphasise, lies in the day-to-day rituals of support. An empathetic mentor who helps a founder sharpen a pitch and quick introductions that can mean the difference between a stalled prototype and a pilot.
• He also speaks about how NSRCEL’s operating model is changing because innovation is increasingly technology-driven. Ganesh shares that the centre now needs operating models that allow co-incubation with science labs and corporate innovation teams.
• The capital environment has shifted, and Ganesh and the founders say investors now expect more rigorous governance, cleaner accounting and clearer unit economics. Ganesh shares scrutiny of legal and financial hygiene has risen sharply. 

ICYMI

Deeptech funding to gather momentum in 2026

The common refrain by venture capital firms in 2025 was that they would step up investments in the deeptech sector. Data from market intelligence platform Tracxn indicates that VCs have delivered on this promise. And the momentum is expected to pick up in 2026. 

Tech bets:

• As of December 2025, bets in the deeptech sector saw a marginal increase in funding compared to 2024, with capital flowing into early-stage startups in the segment.
• According to data from Tracxn, deeptech companies raised $1.57 billion across 265 deals year-to-date, compared to $1.24 billion raised in 2024 across 388 rounds—indicating that, while investors were more cautious in 2025, they wrote bigger cheques to deeptech startups.
• In September, eight venture capital and private equity firms from India and the United States teamed up to launch the India Deep Tech Investment Alliance, which Accel is a part of. 

News & updates

• Oil supply: OPEC+ has agreed in principle to maintain steady oil output at its meeting on Sunday, an OPEC+ delegate and a source familiar with the group’s talks said, despite political tensions between key members Saudi Arabia and the UAE, and the US capture of the president of smaller producer Venezuela.
• Top EV: Tesla ceded its crown as the world’s top electric vehicle maker to China’s BYD, after annual sales fell for a second year, hit by rising competition, the expiry of US tax credits and brand backlash.

What you should watch out for

• Oil industry: Markets will closely watch crude oil prices on Monday, January 5, after Venezuela was attacked by the US.
• IPO watch: Bharat Coking Coal Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Coal India Ltd, is expected to launch its initial public offering on January 9, marking the first public issue of 2026.

What mass market tea brand shares a name with an English brewery?

Answer: Tetley

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