Ixigo Co-Founder Launches ₹1 Crore Fund to Support IIT Kanpur Student Startups

Rajnish Kumar, Co-founder and Group Co-CEO of ixigo and author of Made in Fire, has launched the Made in Fire Fund, a ₹1 crore (approximately $105,000) initiative to support graduating student entrepreneurs at IIT Kanpur. He announced the initiative after returning to the campus as the Guest of Honour to address the graduating Class of 2026.

Funding and Mentorship to Support Student Entrepreneurs

The fund will support 10 technology-led startups from each graduating batch, providing ₹10 lakh (approximately $10,500) in non-dilutive prototype funding to each selected startup. Along with financial assistance, founders will receive mentorship from Kumar, ixigo's leadership team and the ixigo Mafia, a network of entrepreneurs and companies founded by former ixigo team members.

The programme will also offer product reviews, go-to-market guidance, hiring support and introductions to potential investors. These resources are intended to help student founders move from early-stage ideas and prototypes towards building scalable businesses.

IIT Kanpur Graduates to Get Opportunities Across Emerging Technology Sectors

The selection process will prioritise founder conviction, depth of customer understanding, originality of insight, execution ability, long-term thinking and coachability. Graduating students can apply either individually or as part of founding teams.

The fund will focus on technology-led ventures across sectors such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), consumer internet, deep tech, climate, mobility, healthtech, enterprise software and other emerging technology areas.

Alumni-Led Support to Strengthen Campus Entrepreneurship

Commenting on the initiative, Rajnish Kumar said, “Every great company begins with one believer. Twenty-five years ago, IIT Kanpur gave me the confidence to build before I knew where that journey would lead. The Made in Fire Fund is my way of paying that belief forward.”

Through this initiative, Kumar aims to extend support to the next generation of entrepreneurs emerging from IIT Kanpur by combining early-stage funding with industry mentorship and access to an established entrepreneurial network.