They left IIT to build Silicon Valley and billion-dollar companies; now alumni are giving crores back

From IIT to global success and back: How alumni are transforming campuses with crores in donations

For decades, the IITs watched some of their brightest graduates leave campus to build technology companies, global businesses and careers around the world. Now, a reverse flow is becoming increasingly visible: successful alumni are returning with donations large enough to fund medical schools, hostels, research centres, infrastructure and new academic institutions.The latest example came from IIT Kanpur, where IndiGo co-founder and alumnus Rakesh Gangwal recently committed an additional Rs 300 crore towards the Gangwal School of Medical Sciences and Technology. Combined with his earlier Rs 100 crore contribution, his commitment has reached Rs 400 crore, while a matching-grant initiative could potentially bring in significantly more support.The big IIT alumni donations at a glance

Figures are based on publicly reported announcements and institutional disclosures. Some represent pledges or cumulative commitments.

From exporting talent to bringing capital back home

The story is bigger than one alumnus or one campus.Across IIT Kanpur, IIT Delhi, IIT Bombay and IIT Madras, recent years have seen alumni commitments running into hundreds of crores. These are not simply ceremonial donations. The money is increasingly being directed towards assets that could shape the institutions for decades — student housing, healthcare, research facilities, endowments and new academic programmes.At IIT Delhi, Flipkart co-founder Binny Bansal made what the institute described as its largest unrestricted individual donation. In recognition of the contribution, the institute named its Exhibition Hall after him.The Class of 2000 at IIT Delhi also made headlines during its Silver Jubilee celebrations after pledging more than Rs 70 crore, a contribution described by the institute as the largest by a single batch at the time.

Rs 100 crore for the hostel where two founders once lived

At IIT Bombay, alumni giving has also become deeply personal.In 2025, BrowserStack co-founders Ritesh Arora and Nakul Aggarwal committed Rs 100 crore towards improving student living facilities. The plan included rebuilding Hostel 6 — the hostel where the founders had lived as students — along with modernisation work involving other hostels.The symbolism was difficult to miss: entrepreneurs who built a global technology company after leaving IIT were investing in the physical spaces where their own journeys had begun.IIT Bombay’s Class of 2000 added another Rs 50 crore pledge during its Silver Jubilee celebrations. Meanwhile, Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani’s cumulative contribution to IIT Bombay has reached around Rs 400 crore, with funding supporting infrastructure, research and the institute’s deep-tech ecosystem.

A Rs 228 crore gift, 54 years after graduation

At IIT Madras, alumnus Dr Krishna Chivukula demonstrated just how long the relationship between an IIT and its graduates can endure.A member of the Class of 1970, Chivukula made a contribution of around Rs 228 crore, which IIT Madras described as its largest single donation at the time. More than five decades after graduating, the alumnus returned with a gift capable of reshaping the institute’s infrastructure.At IIT Kanpur, the Class of 2000 has also pledged Rs 100 crore towards the proposed Millennium School of Technology and Society, adding another example of alumni groups collectively financing ambitious institutional projects.

The IIT alumni equation is changing

For generations, the IIT story was largely about talent leaving campus and succeeding elsewhere. IIT graduates helped build global technology companies, joined Silicon Valley, founded unicorns and led multinational businesses.That outward journey has not stopped.But another trend is now becoming harder to ignore. Some of the wealth and success created after IIT is beginning to flow back to the campuses — not just through lectures, mentoring or start-up programmes, but through infrastructure-grade capital.The IITs spent decades producing talent that went out to build the world. Increasingly, that talent is coming back — and helping build the institutions that launched them.Disclaimer: This article is based on publicly available institutional announcements and reports. Donation figures and commitments are subject to official disclosures.