20 young innovators take tech ideas to national stage

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Samsung Solve for Tomorrow 2026 finalists represent 18 cities across 12 states

Chandigarh, September 23

Samsung India announced the Top 20 finalists of the fifth edition of Samsung Solve for Tomorrow 2026 on Wednesday, with young innovators from 18 cities across 12 states taking their technology-led solutions to the national stage.

More than half of the finalists were from Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, reflecting the growing spread of youth-led innovation beyond the country’s traditional technology hubs, the company said.

Samsung Solve for Tomorrow is a global problem-solving programme that encourages young people to use science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) to develop solutions to problems in their communities.

This year’s finalists are working across four themes, namely AI Living for India, Environmental Sustainability, Health and Education and Sport & Tech. Their ideas use technologies such as artificial intelligence, computer vision, sensors, voice technology and low-cost wearables to address issues ranging from accessibility and healthcare to agriculture, pollution and sports.

“What stands out about this year’s Top 20 is not just the technology they are building, but the problems they have chosen to solve,” said SP Chun, Corporate Vice-President, Samsung South West Asia.

He said the young innovators were addressing challenges in their own communities, including accessibility, healthcare, agriculture, pollution and sport and were exploring how technology could help create a wider impact.

Several finalists are developing solutions aimed at people with limited access to technology. These include an offline AI application to explain complex documents for people with low literacy, a real-time Indian Sign Language translation system, a voice-based learning companion for visually impaired students and technology designed to anticipate sensory meltdowns among children with autism.

Other projects focus on assistive technology for visually impaired swimmers, converting agricultural residue into clean energy and carbon materials, reducing textile waste and construction-site pollution, and addressing human-wildlife conflict.

The finalists include innovators from Sundargarh in Odisha, Chittoor and Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh, Raebareli and Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh, Amritsar and SAS Nagar in Punjab, Sonipat in Haryana and Raipur in Chhattisgarh. Others are from Bengaluru, Chennai, Coimbatore, New Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Mumbai.

The programme aims to provide the finalists with mentorship and resources to develop their ideas further and explore their potential for wider application.