24 - 25 November 2025 | Hyderabad, India
ICONN stands for Industry–Startup Connect a powerful platform curated by CII CIES to foster impactful partnerships between corporates and startups. Launched with the vision of enabling India’s innovation-led transformation toward Viksit Bharat @2047, ICONN offers structured, high-visibility opportunities for startups to scale solutions and co-create impact alongside industry leaders, investors, policymakers, and academia.
The CII Centre of Excellence for Innovation, Entrepreneurship & Startups (CII CIES) organised ICONN Summit, bringing together India’s leading corporates, investors, policymakers, and innovators to chart the next phase of India’s technology and startup growth. ICONN Summit 2025 featured a series of important releases and recognitions, underscoring the growing impact of India's innovation ecosystem, including:
- Announcement of Winners of the CII Startupreneur Awards 2025, celebrating the country's most promising early-stage and growth-stage startups.
- Release of the report "Engineering Hardware Startup Ecosystem: Opportunities & Challenges", offering insights into India's DeepTech and hardware innovation landscape.
- Release of the report "Democratising Access to Finance in India", capturing key recommendations for strengthening financial inclusion.
- Launch of the "Women in Innovation" Compendium, highlighting the achievements and journeys of emerging women innovators across India.
- The ICONN Ninja Demo Day Cohort 3 as a part of the ICONN Summit 2025, that brought together leaders from India and Japan for a high-energy showcase of cross-border innovation. The ICONN NINJA India Programme is a part of the Sustainable Global Business Breakthrough Ecosystem (SGBBE) project, a bilateral technical cooperation between India and Japan that promotes cross-border innovation, industry-academia collaboration, and sustainable business growth.
- Inaugural of the Startup Expo at ICONN Summit 2025 brought together an exceptional lineup of 48 innovators, each showcasing cutting-edge solutions across high-impact sectors.
Focus Themes of ICONN Summit 2025
Sustainability
Building a Greener, More Resilient Future
(Environment, Energy, Waste, Agriculture, Circular Economy)
Building a Greener, More Resilient Future
(Environment, Energy, Waste, Agriculture, Circular Economy)
Financial Inclusion
Driving Access to Credit and Financial Services
(Banking, Finance, Insurance)
Driving Access to Credit and Financial Services
(Banking, Finance, Insurance)
Manufacturing Excellence
Powering Smart Industry for Global Competitiveness
(Industry 4.0, IoT, Automation, Cybersecurity, Predictive Maintenance)
Powering Smart Industry for Global Competitiveness
(Industry 4.0, IoT, Automation, Cybersecurity, Predictive Maintenance)
These themes represent India’s most urgent developmental goals and offer unmatched opportunities for startup–industry co-innovation.
Key Dignitaries
Shri D Sridhar Babu
Hon’ble Minister for information Technology, Electronics, and Communications
Industries & Commerce & Legislative Affairs
Govt of Telangana
Govt of Telangana
Mr Kris
Gopalakrishnan
Gopalakrishnan
Chairman
CII CIES Advisory Board & Chairman, Axilor Ventures
CII CIES Advisory Board & Chairman, Axilor Ventures
Mr CK
Ranganathan
Ranganathan
Co-Chairman
CII National Startup Council and CMD, CavinKare Pvt Ltd
CII National Startup Council and CMD, CavinKare Pvt Ltd
Mrs Manisha Verma IAS
Additional Chief Secretary, Skills, Employment, Entrepreneurship and Innovation Department, Government of Maharashtra
Mr Ashish Bhandari
Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer
Thermax Limited
Thermax Limited
Ms Nirupa Shankar
Joint Managing Director
Brigade Group
Brigade Group
Mr Deepak Padaki
President
Catamaran
Catamaran
Mr Sanjeev Gupta
Chief Executive Officer
Karnataka Digital
Economy Mission
Karnataka Digital
Economy Mission
Dr Shivkumar Kalyanaraman
Chief Executive Officer
Anusandhan National, Research Foundation, (ANRF)
Anusandhan National, Research Foundation, (ANRF)
Mr Harsh Vardhan
Chief Digital
Transformation Leader
Apollo Tyres
Mr Ankit Kedia
Founder and Lead Investor
Capital A
Capital A
Ms Jyothi Pradhan
Executive Director
Kanara Consumer Pvt Ltd.
Kanara Consumer Pvt Ltd.
Dr Harish Iyer
Director - Health R&D
Digital Innovation and AI
India - Gates Foundation
Digital Innovation and AI
India - Gates Foundation
Mr Pravin Agarwal
Co-founder & Chief Executive Officer
BetterPlace
BetterPlace
Mr Sridhar Sarathy
Chief Ethics Officer
& Head - Sustainability, CSR, Tata Capital
& Head - Sustainability, CSR, Tata Capital
Ms Kirthiga Reddy
Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder
Verix
Verix
Mr Sumeet Ahuja
Founder & Chief Executive Officer
Evoque Impact
Evoque Impact
Mr Ramesh Loganathan
Professor
Co-Innovation/Outreach
IIIT Hyderabad
Co-Innovation/Outreach
IIIT Hyderabad
Mr Kushal Nahata
Co-founder and
Chief Executive Officer
FarEye
Chief Executive Officer
FarEye
Mr Vijayanand Samudrala
CEO/ President
Amara Raja Advanced
Cell Technologies
Amara Raja Advanced
Cell Technologies
Mr Murali Pullela
Sales Director and Country
Manager (S&A), India
Synopsys
Manager (S&A), India
Synopsys
Mr K R Venkatadri
Chief Commercial Officer
Tata Chemical
Tata Chemical
Mr Praveen Dwarakanath
Designated Partner
Whitespace Alpha
Whitespace Alpha
Dr Raj Narayanam
Founder &
Executive Chairman
Zaggle
Executive Chairman
Zaggle
Mr Abhijeet Pai
President, Puzzolana
Machinery & Co-Founder
Gruhas PropTech
Machinery & Co-Founder
Gruhas PropTech
Mr Sato Yosuke
Senior Representative
JICA India
JICA India
Mr Narayan Devanathan
President &
Chief Strategy Officer
Dentsu South Asia
Chief Strategy Officer
Dentsu South Asia
Mr Chanukya Patnaik
Founder CEO
AI Planet
AI Planet
Mr Kentaro Okoshi
Representative
Private Sector Development
Group, Economic Development
Department JICA
Mr Manabu IIDA
Chief Advisor
SGBBE Project
JICA
SGBBE Project
JICA
Mr Mayur Shah
Executive Director
Suzuki R&D Center
India Private Limited
Suzuki R&D Center
India Private Limited
Event Format & Highlights
Key Stakeholders
- Startups & Entrepreneurs looking to showcase innovations
- Corporates & Industry Leaders seeking solutions and collaborations
- Investors, Family Offices & VCs scouting for high-impact ventures
- Government & Policymakers advancing innovation and policy support
- Incubators & Accelerators scaling startup readiness
- Academia & Research Bodies contributing knowledge and talent
- International Delegations exploring cross-border synergies
- Multilateral & Bilateral Institutions fostering global collaboration
ICONN Summit 2025 invites all startup ecosystem stakeholders to be a part of this impactful summit toward building an inclusive, innovative, and globally competitive India.
Coverages
For more information, please contact:
Nishit Sharma | nishit.sharma@cii.in
Sivasundari Subramanian | sivasundari.subramanian@cii.in
Sivasundari Subramanian | sivasundari.subramanian@cii.in
Industry Innovation Partners
Manufacturing Session Partners
Session Partner
Awards Partner
Patron Partners
Technology Partner
Strategic Partner
Outreach Partners
Ecosystem Partners
Knowledge Partners
