The Edugild Program

One program, eight pillars of support.

Selected teams get money, mentors and a room to work in — plus access to the full MIT India institutional network. Below is exactly what you get, and exactly what we expect in return.

Apply to Edugild How the program runs

What's in the box

Eight layers of support, sequenced to how a company actually grows.

01 · Capital

Seed Funding

Cash grants and micro-investments for validated ideas. Typical first cheque: ₹[amount]. No equity for earliest stage; small equity or convertible for larger rounds. confirm cheque size

02 · People

1:1 Mentorship

Each team is matched with an operator-mentor who has built in your category, plus one domain specialist. Weekly 60-minute sessions during the active sprint.

03 · Space

Incubation Support

Desk space at MIT India campuses, shared tooling, legal templates, accounting help, and a go-to-market playbook tailored to your stage.

04 · Programs

Innovation Programs

Multi-week bootcamps, short sprints and cohort-based labs. You join at the program that matches your stage — ideation, MVP, or scale.

05 · Visibility

Competitions

Access to Edugild-hosted national pitch events, and seeded slots at external startup competitions across India.

06 · Distribution

Industry Partnerships

Warm introductions to partner companies for pilots, paid proofs-of-concept, and early customers. name 2–3 marquee partners

07 · Infrastructure

Research & IP

Access to MIT India labs, faculty research groups, and help with IP filings for deep-tech teams.

08 · Network

Community

Founder peer groups, alumni network, quarterly events, and an active Slack/Discord community for cohort members. confirm channel

Eligibility

If you're a student in India with a real idea, you're eligible.

We don't require traction, prototypes, a co-founder, or a specific degree.

Who we back

Undergraduate and postgraduate students from any Indian college or university
Recent graduates within 12 months of graduation
Students on a gap year building full-time
Teams of 1–4; solo founders welcome

What we look for

A problem you can describe in one sentence
Evidence you've spoken to 5+ potential users
A clear reason you are the right person to build this

The 12-week sprint

How a cohort actually runs.

Apply

Online form, 2-minute video or 5-slide deck. No business plan.

Week 0

Interview & select

30-minute conversation with the Edugild team. Decisions in under 10 working days.

Week 1

Kickoff & first cheque

Onboarding, mentor match, first tranche of funding, workspace assigned.

Week 2

Build sprint

Ship an MVP. Weekly reviews with mentors. Office hours with domain experts.

Weeks 3–8

Pilot

Run your first paid or unpaid pilot with an Edugild partner or real user cohort.

Weeks 9–11

Demo day

Pitch to the Edugild investor network, partner companies and press.

Week 12

Post-program

Alumni support, warm intros to follow-on investors, continued mentor access.

Months 4–12