IIT Kanpur.
PTI file photo
Bengaluru: Twenty-five years after graduating from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur, the Class of 2000—often referred to as the Millennium Batch—has returned to its alma mater with a Rs 100 crore commitment.
At their silver jubilee reunion held in Kanpur, the alumni announced a collective contribution of Rs 100 crore to establish the Millennium School of Technology and Society (MSTAS) at IIT Kanpur.
The proposed school is envisioned as a hub for integrating technology, policy, and societal transformation, and the contribution is among the largest ever made by a single graduating batch to an academic institution in the country, IIT Kanpur said in a LinkedIn post.
The Class of 2000 is widely regarded as one of IIT Kanpur’s most prominent and accomplished alumni cohorts, known for its exceptional track record across entrepreneurship, technology leadership, and institution-building. Alumni from the batch have gone on to found or co-found a range of category-defining companies such as InMobi and Glance (founded by Naveen Tewari), NoBroker (Amit Kumar Agarwal), Yulu (Amit Gupta), Knowlarity, Card91, as well as ventures like Cohesity and Martini. Others from the cohort were among the early employees at WhatsApp.
Beyond entrepreneurship, members of the Millennium Batch have held senior leadership roles across some of the world’s most influential organisations, including Nvidia, Microsoft, Amazon, Intel, BCG, Morgan Stanley, and GIC, reflecting the batch’s broad and sustained global impact across technology, finance, and consulting.
Notably, the Class of 2000 has produced three unicorns—InMobi, Glance, and NoBroker—more than any other batch from IIT Kanpur to date, a distinction that further underlines its entrepreneurial depth and long-term relevance.
Among the alumni involved in the initiative is Naveen Tewari, Founder and CEO of InMobi and Glance, who went on to build India’s first unicorn and one of the country’s most globally scaled technology companies. Tewari has personally pledged Rs 30 crore as part of the collective effort.
“IIT Kanpur gave us far more than a degree—it gave us the courage to think big, question assumptions, and build with purpose. This pledge is our collective way of giving back and ensuring that future generations receive the same, if not greater, opportunities to learn and lead,” Tewari said.