ET Online | 09 Oct 2026, 07:37 PM IST

For two decades, Indian startups were built on "easy software, easy coding". So what does it take to build the hard stuff? At the ET Startup Awards 2026 in Bengaluru, Accel founding partner Prashanth Prakash puts the question to three founders building satellites, AI chips and brain-mapping technology out of India.Dheemanth Nagaraj of Agrani Labs explains why a ground-up AI GPU for data centres means three-year product cycles, raising $300 million before the first dollar of revenue, and a chip tape-out that can cost $40-50 million. Pixxel's Kshitij Khandelwal talks about countries wanting their own satellites, strained space supply chains, and a new facility planned to build about 100 satellites a quarter. BrainSight AI's Laina Emmanuel describes mapping the brain for surgeons, the pivot from psychiatry to neurosurgery, and how an Indian regulatory clearance helped with the US FDA.The panel closes with one prediction each for the next 10 years: a trillion-dollar company from India, a million-plus satellites in orbit, and digital twins of human organs.Speakers:Dheemanth Nagaraj, Cofounder & CEO, Agrani LabsKshitij Khandelwal, Cofounder & CTO, PixxelLaina Emmanuel, Cofounder & CEO, BrainSight AIChaired by Prashanth Prakash, Founding Partner, AccelPanel: Building the hard stuff: India's deep tech moonshotsET Startup Awards 2026, presented by IDFC First Bank

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