Hyderabad to host August Fest on August 9-10; 18,000 founders, innovators, creators expected

Hyderabad: The August Fest, India’s biggest celebration of startups, creators and innovators, is back with a bang after a seven-year hiatus. The 2025 edition was formally launched at T-Hub in a function by Ramana Gogula, musician, entrepreneur and investor, along with several ecosystem partners in a curtain raiser ceremony

Speaking to a 200-plus gathering comprised mostly of promoters, Ramana Gogula said August Fest is an opportune moment and urged his audience to make use of it.

Scheduled to be held on August 9-10, The August Fest 2025 is expected to host over 18,000 participants, including founders, investors, innovators, corporators, artists and ecosystem enablers, cementing Hyderabad’s position as one of the most vibrant innovation hubs in Asia, announced Kiran Maverick, the founder of the August

My original name doesn’t have ‘Maverick’, but when my friends saw me doing a lot of crazy, wacky things, they used to call me ‘Theda’. I found a good English word to it, ‘Maverick’, that is how I added the suffix ‘Maverick’ to ‘Kiran’, he explained

Global standards

Speaking further, Kiran added that the city’s startup ecosystem lacked big events.

“Small, small events were happening. We wanted to create a large platform for startups, something similar to ‘TechCrunch’, ‘Mobile World Congress’, ‘World Economic Forum’ in Barcelona, and ‘WebSummit’. We want to build August Fest a platform similar to them,” he said.

We have paused August Fest in 2017, now we are rebuilding it. And we have been working on it for the past year. We need to invest anywhere in the range of Rs 1 to 1.5 crore. We would also like to build a Venture Capital ecosystem in the city. We will bring the world to Hyderabad, Kiran said.

With multiple stages, hands-on workshops, startup showcases and creative installations, the festival aims to position Hyderabad among the top five global startup hubs in the coming years.

The curtain raiser featured a high-energy panel discussion on ‘Founder Stories: From Zero to 100+ Crores,’ moderated by Naidu Darapaneni, founder of MeraEvents. The panel included inspiring homegrown entrepreneurs like Dr Kishore Indukuri (founder, Sid’s Farm) and Sravanth Gajula (co-founder, Adonomo).

The August Fest 2025 will also host a diverse and distinguished speaker lineup, including:

- Mohd. Siraj – Noted investor and head of a $75M Dubai-based fund

- Swati & Vijay – Renowned mural artists who transformed public spaces in Telugu states

- Kavea R Chavali – champion of Indian handlooms and women-led brands

- Sujit S. Nair – chairperson, Europe India Centre for Business and Industry

- Tom Dawkins – co-founder & chief impact officer, Lend For Good (Australia)

- Csenge Csoka – London-based HR tech entrepreneur

- Shezzi Mirza – Popular radio jockey and podcaster

- Ramana Gogula – Entrepreneur, investor, and music composer

“Our ambition is to elevate Hyderabad into one of the world’s top five startup hubs,” Kiran reiterated. “This year’s edition will be a game changer for the Indian startup landscape.”

Those who want to participate in August may register online via www.theaugustfest.com.