Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi has emerged as one of India’s most influential academic institutions, playing a significant role not only in education but also in shaping global leadership and entrepreneurship.

According to IIT Delhi’s first-ever Alumni Impact Report, the institute today boasts a powerful global network of over 65,000 alumni, spread across industries, geographies, and leadership roles. Notably, nearly 15% alumni are actively serving as corporate leaders in C-level roles across large, medium and small enterprises, underscoring IIT Delhi’s deep impact on innovation and enterprise.

The report further highlights the institute’s strong international footprint, with IIT Delhi alumni present in 35 countries outside India. While India continues to host the largest share with over 40,000 alumni, the global presence spans key innovation and economic hubs such as the US, the UK, the UAE, Canada, Singapore, Australia, Germany, the Netherlands, France, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland, Japan, and Sweden.

This expansive network has played a critical role in driving entrepreneurship at scale — over 2,500 alumni have founded or cofounded startups, collectively generating approximately 4.8 Lakh direct jobs worldwide.

Decoding IIT Delhi’s Startup Network

The report highlights several prominent alumni from the corporate and startup ecosystem, including Deepinder Goyal (Founder of Eternal), Vinod Khosla (Cofounder of Sun Microsystems), Vivek Raghavan (Cofounder of Sarvam AI), Yashish Dahiya (Cofounder of PB Fintech), Mohit Aron (Founder of Nutanix, Cohesity) and Padmasree Warrior (Founder of Fable).

However, these names represent only a fraction of IIT Delhi’s broader entrepreneurial and leadership footprint. According to Inc42’s ‘Decoding India’s Soonicorn Landscape Report, 2024’, over 40% of Indian soonicorns have founders from Indian IITs, with IIT Delhi ranking second after IIT Bombay. Similarly, Inc42’s ‘Decoding India’s Unicorn Club Report, 2023’ noted that 42% of India’s unicorn founders were alumni of IITs, with IIT Delhi emerging as a key hotspot for unicorn creation.

Let’s take a look at the key findings from the Alumni Impact Report:

Deep penetration across India’s leading startups: IIT Delhi’s Alumni Impact Report 2026 indicates the growing dominance of the institution in India’s startup ecosystem – founders of 21 unicorns and 45 soonicorns are part of its alumni network. The report also notes that 140 minicorns and one decacorn have IIT Delhi alumni as founders.

Alums building deep-rooted startups across sectors: IIT Delhi alumni network spans key sectors such as fintech, edtech, ecommerce and more. Here’s a glimpse of some prominent startups founded by IIT Delhi alums.

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