Boeing on Tuesday announced the opening of applications for the fifth edition of its Boeing University Innovation Leadership Development (BUILD) program for 2025-26, reaffirming its long-standing support for student innovators and early-stage startups in India.
Launched in 2019, the BUILD program enables university graduates and early-stage startup entrepreneurs from across India to pitch and develop their ideas by connecting them with incubators, investors, and Boeing’s industry expertise, helping concepts mature into market-ready solutions.
By bringing together academia, industry partners, incubators, and investors within a structured and integrated platform, BUILD helps reduce the risk associated with early-stage innovation, strengthens startup readiness, and accelerates the journey from concept to deployment.
Over five editions, the program has supported thousands of graduates and startups nationwide, accelerating ideas and solutions in India’s startup ecosystem across sectors such as aerospace, defence, technology, sustainability, and social impact.
Bill McSherry, vice president, State Advocacy and Global Engagement at Boeing, said, “For over a century Boeing has led global aerospace innovation, turning bold ideas into solutions that improve lives. We understand what it takes to turn an idea into a solution and the passion behind it. With BUILD’s proven track record in helping shape students’ and entrepreneurs’ dreams and ambitions, we are proud to support the next leap this program is set to take.”
Salil Gupte, president of Boeing India and South Asia, said, “India’s startup community brings bold thinking and deep technical capability. Over the past five years, BUILD has nurtured this capability – giving wings to ideas, offering mentorship, industry expertise, and opportunity to scale up – to thousands of students, and enabled concepts to mature into capabilities. We deeply value the partnership of our incubator ecosystem, which has been integral to this journey of nurturing innovators and entrepreneurs.”
Boeing continues to partner with seven incubators, including Society for Innovation at IIT Mumbai, Foundation for Innovation and Technology Transfer at IIT Delhi, Innovation and Entrepreneurship Centre at IIT Gandhinagar, IIT Madras Incubation Cell, Society for Innovation and Development at IISC Bengaluru, T-Hub Hyderabad, and Technology Business Incubator at KIIT Bhubaneswar, to organise the BUILD program in India.
Applicants are invited to submit ideas in fields such as aerospace and defence, technology, social impact, and sustainability. Shortlisted teams will compete at regional-level boot camps, and finalists will pitch their ideas to Boeing subject-matter experts on Boeing Immersion Day and at the BUILD finals, scheduled for July 2026.
Winners will receive a grant of INR 10 lakh each to support the development of their ideas. Boeing mentors and industry experts will work closely with the finalists to refine their concepts and suggest ways to convert them into viable business offerings.
