XCEED hosts Investor & Startup Summit with live pitch showcase in Jamshedpur
Jamshedpur, February 12: XLRI Jamshedpur’s incubation centre, XCEED, through its student execution committee NEXORA, successfully organised NEXCON 2026, an Investor and Startup Summit, at the Tata Auditorium on campus. The event witnessed an overwhelming response with more than 1,000 participants attending in person and over 500 joining virtually from across the country.
The summit brought together school and college students, startup founders and working professionals on a single platform to interact with leading names from India’s startup ecosystem. Designed as a practical learning forum, the event aimed to bridge the gap between theory and real-world entrepreneurship by allowing participants to directly engage with founders, investors and ecosystem leaders.
The programme was graced by Dr (Fr.) S. George, SJ, Director of XLRI Jamshedpur; Dr (Fr.) Joseph Mathew, SJ; and Prof. Sunil Kumar Sarangi, CEO of XCEED, along with senior faculty members and representatives of the XLRI community.
The chief guests for the summit were Aditi Murarka Agrawal, Founder of Nestasia and an XLRI alumna (Class of 2015), and Arijit Dutta, actor and entrepreneur. Both speakers shared insights from their entrepreneurial journeys and encouraged young aspirants to pursue innovative ideas with determination.
A major highlight of the event was a Shark Tank–style live pitch competition. More than 200 startups had registered in January 2026, out of which four finalists were selected after multiple screening rounds. The shortlisted startups presented their ideas before a panel of investors and founders, followed by rapid-fire questions and live evaluation.
The finalists included Shyamal Patel of XLSlides (XLRI), Deepak Kumar of Yogitha Biofarming Private Limited (Kharagpur), Omkar Kumar and Ashirwad of Labour Link (BIT Sindri), and Chaitanya Arora and Megha Agarwal of HeyDo Tech (XLRI).
The summit also featured a panel discussion titled “Zero to One: How to Build and Scale a Startup,” moderated by Prof. Rahul Shukla. Industry experts discussed scaling strategies, early-stage challenges and key factors investors consider while funding startups.
NEXCON 2026 concluded as a vibrant platform fostering innovation, collaboration and entrepreneurial learning.
