ixigo co-founder and Group Co-CEO Rajnish Kumar has launched the ₹1 crore Made in Fire Fund to back technology-led startups founded by graduating IIT Kanpur students, adding a new founder-led funding route to startup funding in India. Announced on 28 October 2026, the initiative begins with the Class of 2026 and will support 10 startups from each graduating batch.
Each selected startup will receive ₹10 lakh in non-dilutive prototype funding — money that does not take equity — so founders can build and test their first product without giving away a slice of the company before it exists. Kumar announced the fund after returning to IIT Kanpur, where he addressed the graduating Class of 2026 as Guest of Honour, twenty-five years after his own graduation from the institute. Kumar is also the author of Made in Fire, the book that gives the fund its name.
More than money: mentorship and the ixigo network
Beyond capital, selected founders will get mentorship from Kumar, ixigo’s leadership team and the wider ixigo Mafia — the network of entrepreneurs and companies founded by former ixigo team members. Support includes product reviews, go-to-market guidance, hiring help and investor introductions where appropriate, plus a chance to present progress at a Demo Day after 6 to 12 months.
The fund will back ventures across AI, SaaS, deep tech, mobility, healthcare and other technology sectors, and says it will prioritise founder conviction, customer understanding and execution over pitch decks. That selection lens is itself a lesson: at prototype stage, evidence of obsession with a real customer problem counts for more than a polished slide deck.
A founder paying it forward
Kumar’s stated belief behind the fund is simple: every great company begins with one believer. For a graduating student with an idea but no network, a first believer who also brings operator experience can be the difference between a project that stalls and a company that gets built. Alumni-led micro-funds like this one are a growing on-ramp into India’s startup ecosystem, sitting between college competitions and institutional pre-seed rounds.
Why it matters for founders
If you are a student founder, non-dilutive prototype capital plus operator mentorship is often worth more than a larger cheque that dilutes you early. And if you are an alumnus with a win behind you, a small, structured fund for your own campus can be the highest-leverage way to give back — and to meet the next generation early.