New Delhi, Feb. 24 -- Private equity firms KKR and Motilal Oswal Alternates, venture capital firms Peak XV Partners and Ventureast, snacks maker Balaji Wafers and B2B marketplace OfBusiness were among the winners of the VCCircle Awards 2026, which recognised standout investors, portfolio companies, bankers and law firms across 30 categories.
Now in its fifteenth edition, the annual awards honoured excellence across private markets, spanning growth-stage companies, early-stage funds, sector-focused investors, PE/VC exits and fundraisers.
The winners were selected by the jury after a detailed evaluation process that assessed their financial performance, deal activity and strategic impact.
The jury comprised Neha Grover, regional lead for South Asia Funds Group at International Finance Corporation; Abhishek Nair, head of investments and new ventures at Sharjah Asset Management; Dr Subhransu Acharya, chairman and managing director of the National Small Industries Corporation; and Natarajan Venkatram, managing director and head of India at Canadian pension fund La Caisse (earlier known as CDPQ).
The panel reflected a balanced cross-section of capital and institutional experience, spanning a global development finance institution, a sovereign wealth platform, a large international pension fund, and one of India's most active LPs.
Across operating companies, a diverse mix of businesses emerged as category leaders. Balaji Wafers, which received funding from General Atlantic earlier this year, was named the consumer products company while OfBusiness won the title of the B2B commerce company of the year. Nu Genes secured the top honours in agritech and Jaynix Engineering was recognised in the industrials segment.
In healthcare, Manipal Hospitals was named the care delivery company of the year while Micro Life Sciences won in medical products and La Renon Healthcare topped the pharma category. Dentalkart was recognised as the digital health company of the year.
Among financial and enterprise-focused firms, the jury selected education financier Credila as the lending company of the year, and Newgen was recognised in enterprise applications. Molbio Diagnostics won the award for the deeptech company of the year.
On the investor side, Peak XV was named the most active investor of the year in venture capital while 360 ONE Asset topped the private equity category. Antler was recognised as the inception-stage VC fund of the year.
In fundraising, A91 Partners was awarded by the jury in the VC segment as it raised $665 million for its third fund while MO Alternates won the fundraiser of the year award in private equity. The jury chose MO Alternates to recognise its strong mobilisation of capital from domestic LPs, even though ChrysCapital raised a larger fund that mostly tapped overseas investors.
At the same time, exit momentum remained strong, with KKR winning the exit of the year in private equity for JB Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals, and Ventureast securing the VC exit award for MoEngage India.
Among dealmakers, Avendus Capital was named investment bank of the year by deal volume in the large category, while Deloitte led by deal value. In the emerging segment, IndigoEdge won by deal volume and BDA Partners by deal value.
Portfolio companies
1. Consumer Products Company of the Year - Balaji Wafers
2. B2B Commerce Company of the Year - OfBusiness
3. Agritech Company of the Year - Nu Genes
4. Industrials Company of the Year - Jaynix Engineering
5. Care Delivery (Hospitals/Diagnostics) Company of the Year - Manipal Hospitals
6. Medical Products Company of the Year - Micro Life Sciences
7. Pharma Company of the Year - La Renon Healthcare
8. Digital Health Company of the Year - DentalKart
9. Lending Company of the Year - Credila
10. Enterprise Applications Company of the Year - Newgen
11. Deep-Tech Company of the Year - Molbio
12. Logistics Company of the Year - Delhivery
13. Environmental Solutions Company of the Year - Rite Water Solutions
14. Startup of the Year - Dhan
Investors, rainmakers, and law firms
1. Women Entrepreneur of the Year - Ruchi Kalra (OfBusiness)
2. Most Active Investor of the Year (VC) - Peak XV
3. Most Active Investor of the Year (PE) - 360 ONE Asset
4. Inception-Stage VC Fund of the Year - Antler
5. Fund Raiser of the Year (VC) - A91 Partners
6. Fund Raiser of the Year (PE) - MO Alternates
7. Exit of the Year (PE) - KKR (for JB Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals)
8. Exit of the Year (VC) - Ventureast (for MoEngage India)
9. Investment Bank of the Year by Deal Volume (Large) - Avendus Capital
10. Investment Bank of the Year by Deal Value (Large) - Deloitte
11. Law Firm of the Year by Deal Volume (Large) - CMS Induslaw
12. Law Firm of the Year by Deal Value (Large) - AZB and Partners
13. Investment Bank of the Year by Deal Volume (Emerging) - IndigoEdge
14. Investment Bank of the Year by Deal Value (Emerging) - BDA Partners
15. Law Firm of the Year by Deal Volume (Emerging) - Spice Route Legal
16. Law Firm of the Year by Deal Value (Emerging) - Veritas Legal
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from VC Circle.