Thiruvananthapuram, Nov 11: A stellar lineup of 76 Venture Capital (VC) investors and more than 50 Angel Investors will feature in an exclusive investment platform for startup founders in the eighth edition of Huddle Global 2026, Asia’s largest beachside startup festival that begins at Kovalam on November 12.
Startup founders will have the opportunity to explore funding prospects through the platform ‘Investment Track,’ featuring interactions with VC and angel investors, to be held on the sidelines of the three-day event, organized by Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM).
Chief Minister Shri VD Satheesan will inaugurate the prestigious event at The Leela Kovalam, a Raviz Hotel, Kovalam on November 12 at 10.30 am, KSUM CEO Anoop Ambika announced at a press conference here today.
Minister of Industries, IT, Future Technology and Startups Shri P K Kunhalikutty will deliver the keynote address at the inaugural ceremony. Shri S Suhas, Special Secretary, Electronics and IT Department, Govt. of Keralam, will preside.
Ms Sophie Karlshausen, Ambassador at Embassy of Belgium, will deliver Special Address on the occasion. Shri M Vincent, MLA, and actress Keerthy Suresh will also be present.
Shri Anoop Ambika will deliver the welcome address at the function where a number of MoUs will be signed and exchanged.
“The flagship event will feature panel discussions, an AI film festival, product launches, roundtable conferences of GCC leaders, exhibitions, 500 plus investor matchmaking opportunities, business networking and mentoring sessions. It is designed as a dynamic platform for startups to showcase cutting-edge innovations, raise capital, find strategic partners and receive mentorship,” Shri Anoop said.
He added that Huddle Global 2026 is expected to bring together more than 4000 startups, 200 HNI’s (High Net worth Individuals), over 300 startup mentors, more than 200 corporates, 150 plus exhibitors, upwards of 150 investors and 300 eminent speakers.
On the first day, Minister for Tourism and Culture Shri P C Vishnunadh will inaugurate an AI Film Festival as part of the event.
On the same day, a panel discussion on ‘From Vision to Impact: The Journey of Building Something That Matters’ will be attended by Shri Shafi Parambil, MP; Shri Ramesh Pisharody, MLA; and Shri PMA Sameer, MLA. Smt. Vinitha Joseph, Senior Technology Fellow, KSUM, will be the moderator.
On the second day, Shri Snehil Kumar Singh, MD, KSIDC, will lead a session on ‘Saral Keralam’.
On November 14, Minister of Agriculture Shri T Siddique will attend KERA Fund announcement and grant distribution ceremony where KERA logo will also be launched. The Minister will give away grant to seven companies and product development grant to 32 companies on the occasion.
Besides, Minister for Water Resources Shri Mons Joseph will launch a flood prediction robot developed by Thrissur-based robotic company Estrado at the event.
Shri P C Vishnunadh will attend the valedictory of the event on November 14 at 3 pm where Student Unicorn Prize and JPMR Pitchathon prizes will be distributed.
Car racing champion Mathias Lauda will attend Huddle Global 2026 on November 14 as part of a project for manufacturing affordable F1 cars from Thiruvananthapuram.
The Huddle Global Roundtables will bring together a select group of 20 to 25 domain leaders per session. These sessions will be chaired by the Chief Minister, the Minister for IT & Industries, Department Secretaries, State Planning Board Members, University Vice Chancellors, and the CEO of KSUM. The flagship Chief Minister’s Roundtable brings together country ambassadors, global innovation pioneers, select founders, and institutional investors. Besides, masterclass and vendor clinics will be held.
The distinguished list of speakers includes Dr Sutapa Choudhury, British Deputy High Commissioner, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry; Ms Gita Krishnankutty, Director-Investment, South India, UK Government; Mr Eoghan O’Regan, Head of India, Welsh Government; Dr JaeKyeong Lee, Director, Global Business Center, KOSME, South Korea; Mr Tobias Kuhl, Head of Deep Tech Incubation & Acceleration, NXTGN; and Ms Pratiti Sharma, Senior Manager, Startup India.
The list also features Mr Mahmood Dhannani Director, Cylcop Australia; Mr Siby Sudhakaran, Startup Middle East; Dr Veena N Madhavan, Additional Chief Secretary, Dept. of Agriculture, Govt. of Keralam; Dr Ananda Ramakrishnan, Director, NIIST; Ms Shreya Sharma, Director, NASSCOM-Deeptech; and Mr Vinod Khader, Executive Director & Engineering Leader, IBM.
Huddle Global 2026 will see convergence of startup founders, investors, government officials, social entrepreneurs, innovators, policymakers and industry leaders to shape the future of technology and entrepreneurship, imparting fresh impetus to innovation and growth.
The Venture Capital and investment firms taking part at the event include Seafund, 8x Ventures, Celesta Capital, Bharat Innovation Fund, Yali Capital, Kalaari, IvyCap Ventures, Colossa Ventures, Speciale Invest, 3one4 Capital, Transition VC, Sathguru Catalyser Fund, Tetration Ventures, Pontaq VC and Omnivore.
Angel networks, including KAN, MAN, IAN Group, Phoenix Angels, and Real Time Angel Fund, will attend. Founding partners, managing partners and general partners from these firms will speak on the main stage, sit on evaluation panels and meet founders directly.
The expo at the event will showcase Next-Gen innovations and technology that can accelerate Kerala’s transformation into a knowledge-based industry hub.
The show will exhibit a clutch of impressive transformative solutions and products from across India and beyond, spanning sectors such as EduTech, HealthTech, FinTech, Life Sciences, SpaceTech, Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning, Blockchain, Robotics, AR/VR, IoT, GreenTech, and e-Governance.
Humanoid robots, autonomous drones, sustainable energy solutions, biomedical devices, and smart city innovations designed to address pressing global challenges will be on display at the expo.
