AWS and Campus Fund Announce Sixth Edition of Grand Challenge: The Largest National Platform to Recognize Best Student Led Startup of the Year 2025

14.08.2025 - 14:05:48

Business Wire India

Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Campus Fund today announced the sixth edition of Grand Challenge, a flagship nationwide initiative that continues to recognize and support India’s most innovative student-led startups. This edition is powered once again by 360 ONE and now features a dedicated onchain track sponsored by Base, the Ethereum layer 2 incubating at Coinbase.

Building on the momentum of previous editions, Grand Challenge 2025 invites student entrepreneurs from across the country to apply by September 15, 2025. The challenge is open to current students, recent graduates, and even dropouts (from 2022 onwards), across all sectors.

have emerged as winners, with 23 ventures raising over $90 million (~Rs. 750 Crores) in follow-on capital for reputed global investors.

"The Grand Challenge is no longer just a stage for startups – it’s a national movement driving India’s emergence as the startup hub of the world," said Richa Bajpai.

About Grand Challenge 2025

The mission is clear - Empowering India’s Student Innovators and bringing them to fore. With a robust format that combines mentorship, national exposure, direct access to investors and Who’s Who of India Inc, Grand Challenge offers a unique platform for young founders to scale. This is also the first time Base has sponsored a dedicated onchain track of the Grand Challenge, which will reward teams with a prize pool of up to 10k USD.

The jury this year comprises of veterans and stalwarts of the India Inc:

Akshat Seth: MD & CEO, Birla Nu

Alok Kshirsagar: Senior Partner, McKinsey & Co

Amitabh Nagpal: Head of Startup Ecosystem, AWS India

Ashwini Tewari: MD, State Bank of India

Bharat Shah: Co-Founder, HDFC Bank

Phanindra Sama: Founder, redBus

Ramakant Sharma: Founder & CEO, Livspace

Roopa Kudva: Former Managing Partner, Omidyar Network India; Former CEO, CRISIL

Sasha Mirchandani: Founder & Managing Partner, Kae Capital

Shashwat Goenka: Vice Chairman, RP Sanjiv Goenka Group

Shruti Shibulal: CEO & Director, Tamara Leisure Experiences

Ullas Kamath: Former Joint MD, Jyothi Labs Limited, and

Yatin Shah: Co-Founder & CEO, 360 ONE and some more industry leaders.

Timelines:

Deadline for Applications - September 15, 2025
Top 15 Startups Announced: November 2025
Grand Finale: December 10, 2025 (Mumbai)

Eligibility:

Open to all sectors
Current university students, recent graduates, and dropouts (2022 and after)

Format & Journey:

Online Application
Shortlisting & Elimination Rounds
Mentorship with Industry Experts
Grand Finale in Mumbai: Top 15 present live to the Grand Jury

Benefits & Support:

$10,000 in non dilutive grants for winners
Up to Rs. 8 Crores (~USD?1M) in potential funding for winners
Up to USD 25,000 in AWS Activate Credits
Access to top tools: Notion, DocSend, ClickUp, Freshworks, WebFlow, Typeform
Special mentorship to top startups building onchain by the Base India team

Past editions of the Grand Challenge have produced notable winners, including Paradyes - a hair?color startup (University of Arts, London) and Digantara - the space?cartography startup from Lovely Professional University & RV College of Engineering.