Kumbhathon

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Build Solutions That Work in the Real World

Kumbhathon is a year-round, problem-first incubation platform where startups don’t just prototype ideas—they pilot, deploy, and scale solutions within live urban and civic environments, starting with Kumbh Mela–scale challenges and expanding to cities across India.

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Why Build with Kumbhathon

Kumbhathon is designed for startups that want to move beyond labs and demo days into real-world validation at city scale.
What makes Kumbhathon different

Work on government-validated problem statements, not hypothetical use cases

Build alongside city authorities, public institutions, and ecosystem partners

Access live, high-impact environments like Kumbh Mela, festivals, and urban pilots

Gain credibility through real deployments, not just accelerators badges

What You Get

A structured support system focused on execution, access, and outcomes.

Mentorship

Learn from people who’ve built, deployed, and scaled.
  • Domain experts across urban systems, governance, health, infrastructure, and sustainability
  • Founder-led guidance on product-market fit, compliance, and scale-readiness
  • Regular reviews, milestone checkpoints, and decision-making support

Real-World Pilots

Test where it actually matters.

  • Opportunity to pilot solutions in live city and mass-gathering environments
  • Feedback from real users, city officials, and operational teams
  • Proof-of-impact through measurable, on-ground outcomes

Govt & City Access

Unlock doors startups usually can’t.

  • Structured access to municipal bodies, state departments, and public agencies
  • Support navigating procurement, permissions, and public deployment pathways
  • Visibility within city, state, and national innovation ecosystems

Startup Journey in Kumbhthon

From idea to deployment—clearly mapped.

Discover Problems

Explore real, validated problem statements sourced from cities and institutions.

Build

Refine your solution with mentorship, domain inputs, and ecosystem feedback.

Pilot

Deploy in real environments cities, events, and public systems.

Scale

Expand through city partnerships, institutional adoption, and ecosystem support.

Startup Portfolio

Mentors & Advisors

A cross-sector network that accelerates decisions—not just discussions.

Prof. Ramesh Raskar

MIT Media Labs, Boston

Mr. Ajar Bohra

Co-founder, HDFC Credila | Founder, NEF

Mr. Ashwin Kandoi

Co-founder, Winjit Technologies

Mr. Ashish Kataria

President, Nashik Citizen’s Forum

Mr. Sudhir kadam

Founder, FYDA & Silicon Valley Serial Entrepreneur & Investor

Mr. Sri Jaggannathan

Technology Entrepreneur, Ocean Engineer

Mr. Venkta Venkatraman

Professor Emeritus at Boston University Questrom School of Business

Browse Mentors Directory ->

Startup Stories

The Disq story

The efforts from Kumbhathon 2015 led to the setting up of Nashiks first innovation centre Digital Impact Square supported by TCS Foundation.

Read Full Story >>

Ashioto-Crowd Steering using Footmat

8th grade student Nilay Kulkarni deployed innovative foot mat at 2015 Kumbh Mela in Nashik. Became successful startup founder today and nutures young talent as a mentor. An example of how our ecosyatem worksa nd builds.

Read Full Story >>

City Stack Initiative

The initiative builds on the foundational belief that “Smart Citizens create Smart Cities,” emphasizing citizen empowerment in the age of AI agents. With city-stack, we seek to create a replicable model for citizen-centric self-orchestration that can be adapted and implemented worldwide

Read Full Story >>

Apply to Incubate

If you’re ready to build for the real world, start here.
Explore Startup Stories ->
Apply to Incubation ->