A Visionary Win: Darshan Shah Claims ET Entrepreneur of the Year 2026

Darshan Shah, the co-founder of India’s rapidly expanding PR-tech platform NewsReach, has been awarded the title of Entrepreneur of the Year 2026 in the Media and Entertainment sector. This accolade places him among a distinguished group of industry leaders celebrated at the Economic Times Entrepreneur Awards 2026, hosted at the Sahara Star Hotel in Mumbai.

Mumbai, May 18, 2026: At the third edition of the ET Entrepreneur Awards, held on March 25, 2026, at the Sahara Star Hotel in Mumbai, NewsReach Co-Founder and CEO Darshan Shah was honoured with the Entrepreneur of the Year award for the Media & Entertainment category.

The Economic Times Entrepreneur Awards 2026, Edition III, spotlighted Darshan Shah, the chief executive and co-founder of NewsReach, as the winner in the Media & Entertainment category. The event, which took place at Mumbai’s Sahara Star Hotel, served as a gathering for some of India’s most influential business leaders, all coming together to acknowledge significant entrepreneurial achievements and transformative industry innovations.

"Visibility is the new currency for businesses in the digital age. We built NewsReach to be the infrastructure layer through which brands, startups, and enterprises access every PR opportunity in India, and eventually across the Global South." — Darshan Shah, Co-Founder & CEO, NewsReach Media Pvt. Ltd.

The Journey Behind the Recognition

Hailing from Gujarat, Shah is a first-generation entrepreneur who launched NewsReach in partnership with Soniya Kundnani. Their collaborative vision and the platform's rapid early growth were highlighted in 2022 when both founders were featured on the Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia list within the Media, Marketing & Advertising category. The company has also secured backing from major legacy media players HT Media and Zee Media, demonstrating strong institutional belief in the potential of the PR-tech model.

Founder Snapshot

• Company: NewsReach Digital Pvt. Ltd.
• Award: ET Entrepreneur of the Year — Media & Entertainment
• Edition: ET Entrepreneur Awards 2026, Edition III
• Venue & Date: Sahara Star Hotel, Mumbai — March 25, 2026
• Previous Recognition: Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia 2022 (Media & Marketing)
• Strategic Investors: HT Media & Zee Media

What the ET Entrepreneur Awards Represent

Managed by the B2B division of Times Internet Limited, the Economic Times Entrepreneur Awards stand as one of the most demanding benchmarks for entrepreneurial success in India. In its third iteration, the 2026 awards assessed candidates based on a wide range of metrics, such as business model innovation, revenue expansion, market influence, team development, and overall impact on the entrepreneurial landscape.

Shah’s victory in the Media & Entertainment category highlights more than just the growth NewsReach has attained; it validates the unique structural approach of the business. By transforming public relations—traditionally a disjointed service sector—into a technology-driven infrastructure model, the company has established network effects, consistent revenue streams, and a competitive advantage rooted in 18 months of visibility graph data.

Currently, NewsReach is transitioning into what Shah terms a scaling phase. The company is evolving past its roots in PR distribution to position itself as the primary visibility infrastructure for India's 1 crore addressable SMBs. Looking ahead, the firm is targeting international growth, with plans to expand into the Global South, MENA, and APAC regions.

This recognition from the ET Entrepreneur Awards serves as further external validation for a platform that is redefining media infrastructure development in India, advancing one visibility graph node at a time.

About the ET Entrepreneur Awards

The ET Entrepreneur Awards, hosted by the B2B division of the Economic Times (Times Internet Limited), celebrate exceptional entrepreneurial success across various sectors in India and the Asia-Pacific region. The 2026 ceremony (Edition III) took place on March 25, 2026, at the Sahara Star Hotel in Mumbai.

Full winners list: b2b.economictimes.indiatimes.com/entrepreneur-awards/winners-list