Chandigarh University opens Campus Tank Season 2 with $15 million pool for founders

Chandigarh University on Saturday, October 10, 2026 launched the second season of Campus Tank, its start-up programme for young founders, and said the pool of funding on offer has grown to 15 million US dollars from 6 million dollars in the first season. The university made the announcement at the Incubator and Capital Summit 2026, organised by its technology business incubator, CU-TBI, together with the Indian Science and Technology Entrepreneurs Parks and Business Incubators Association (ISBA). The programme gives students and young innovators a chance to pitch ideas to investors and seek money to take them to market.

Most young founders in India hit the same wall early: an idea and a prototype, but no route to the people who write cheques. Investor networks are concentrated in a few cities, and students outside Bengaluru, Delhi or Mumbai rarely get a meeting. A university-run pitch programme with named investment partners tries to close that gap by bringing investors to campus founders rather than the other way round.

The first season's numbers, as reported by the university, suggest that demand is strong. More than 21,000 registrations from over 1,200 cities show that many students and recent graduates want a structured way to test an idea. Bigger pools of money do not mean every entrant will be funded, though. The headline figure is the total that partners are willing to deploy across selected start-ups, not a grant per team, and the final investment terms are set between founders and investors.

The season also points to where investor interest lies. An Apna Group executive quoted in the university's release said Season 2 will lean towards themes built around artificial intelligence, such as reskilling workers for jobs that AI is changing and applied uses of AI. Young founders working in those areas may find a more receptive audience.

For a student founder, the practical lesson is to prepare before the window opens. Investors at such events usually look for a clear problem, early proof that customers want the product, and a team that can deliver. A short pitch deck, a working demo and some numbers on users or sales will matter more than a polished slide on market size.

Short-term: Students and early-stage founders can begin preparing pitches now and should watch the university's official Campus Tank pages for the application window and rules.

Long-term: If the larger pool translates into real investments, more campus start-ups from smaller cities could reach the seed stage instead of stalling after college.

Who is affected: College students, recent graduates and first-time founders across India, campus incubators, and angel and early-stage investors looking for young teams.

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