When Bharat Innovates 2026 opens in Nice, France, on 14 June 2026, the speaker roster will be as closely watched as the startups on the floor. Infosys founder N. R. Narayana Murthy will deliver the opening keynote at the event, an initiative of the Ministry of Education that brings 120 Indian deep-tech startups before a global audience. The line-up draws leaders from government, industry, academia, investment, and research who are helping connect India’s deep-tech ecosystem with global markets and partnerships.
The choice of speakers reflects the event’s core ambition: putting Indian founders in the same room as the people who control capital, market access, and research infrastructure across Europe and beyond. The inaugural session itself will be held in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron, underlining how high the event sits on the bilateral agenda during the India-France Year of Innovation.
## The Indian Contingent: Founders, Policymakers and IIT Directors
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The Infosys connection runs deep through the programme. Alongside Narayana Murthy’s keynote, co-founder Kris Gopalakrishnan will moderate a panel on building a corridor for trusted, inclusive, and scalable AI, featuring Rajan Anandan, Managing Director of Peak XV Partners, Sandeep Bakshi, Head of Europe at Prosus, and Henri Verdier, Head of the INRIA Foundation.
Government and policy voices include Dr Ajay Sood, Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India, Dr Deepak Bagla, Mission Director of the Atal Innovation Mission, and Manoj Mittal, Chairman and Managing Director of SIDBI. Indian academia arrives in strength, with the directors of IIT Bombay, IIT Delhi, IIT Kanpur, IIT Gandhinagar, IIT Jammu, and IISc Bangalore all on the speaker list. Startup founders also feature, including Ritesh Agarwal, Founder and CEO of OYO and PRISM, and Akis Evangelidis, Co-Founder of UK-based Nothing.
The investor bench is equally deep. Karthik Reddy, Co-Founder and Partner at Blume Ventures, Prashanth Prakash, Founding Partner at Accel India, Anant Vidur Puri, Partner at Bessemer Venture Partners, Gaurav Deepak, CEO of Avendus Capital, and Pankaj Makkar, Managing Director of Bertelsmann India Investments, will all be in Nice, alongside global counterparts such as Carsten Coesfeld, CEO of Bertelsmann Investments, Fabricio Bloisi, CEO of Prosus and Naspers, and Yoko Fukata, Head of India at the Sony Innovation Fund.
## Europe Shows Up with Industrial Heavyweights
The European presence signals serious intent. Michiel Scheffer, President of the European Innovation Council, joins the speaker list, and he is flanked by senior leaders from France’s aerospace and industrial establishment, including Aurelie Girou, CEO of Safran Reosc, Bertrand Denis, Vice President for Observation, Science and Exploration at Thales Alenia Space, Frederic Parisot, CEO of the French Aerospace Industries Association GIFAS, and Clementine Gallet, President of Coriolis Composites. European corporate R&D leadership is represented by Marie-Noelle Semeria, Senior Vice President of R&D at TotalEnergies, Dr Anne Hardy, Chief Innovation Officer at Saint-Gobain, and Dr Munib Amin, Managing Director at E.ON. From the scientific side, Prof Chetan Chitnis, Professor and Research Director at Institut Pasteur, brings one of Europe’s most storied research institutions to the table.
## Why Does This Speaker Mix Matter for Indian Startups
The diverse speaker mix at Bharat Innovates 2026 matters because it creates a unique confluence of ideas, capital, and market opportunities essential for scaling Indian deep-tech startups. With representation from key sectors such as aerospace, energy, and artificial intelligence, Indian startups have the chance to align with global best practices and explore collaborative opportunities. The presence of influential investors and policymakers also means that Indian startups can directly pitch and engage with those who can provide the necessary financial backing and regulatory support to scale their innovations globally.
What happens next could significantly impact India’s startup ecosystem. As Bharat Innovates 2026 unfolds, the interactions and partnerships formed at the event could lead to increased cross-border investments and collaborations. For founders, engineers, and investors, watching how these dialogues translate into actionable partnerships will be critical. The success of this event could establish a template for future Indo-European tech collaborations, making it a pivotal moment for India’s global tech ambitions.
