For decades, the conversation around top engineering education in India began and ended with the IITs. That conversation is finally widening. A new wave of CS and AI-focused colleges has emerged over the last few years with tighter cohorts, AI-first curriculum and faculty pulled directly from industry rather than academia alone. For students who want hands-on, industry-aligned learning aimed at roles at product companies, startups and AI-first teams, these new-age tech institutes are increasingly worth a serious look.
Here are four to shortlist:
1. Scaler School of Technology, Bengaluru
Scaler, originally known for its upskilling programs for working engineers, launched its undergraduate school in 2024 in Electronic City, Bengaluru. The four-year UG program in Computer Science and AI is fully residential and built around the same project-based, mentor-heavy pedagogy Scaler is known for. The pitch is straightforward: graduate with a real portfolio, a working network in tech, and demonstrable skills rather than just a degree. Admissions go through the NSET entrance test, and founders Anshuman Singh and Abhimanyu Saxena remain hands-on with curriculum design. Tuition is around ₹28 lakh for the Scaler 4 year residential program with which students can also opt for a parallel B.Sc. from either BITS Pilani (B.Sc. Hons in Computer Science) or IIT Madras (BS in Data Science & Applications).
2. Newton School of Technology [Sonipat, Pune, Bengaluru, Hyderabad]
Newton School of Technology runs a four-year course in CS & AI in partnership with Rishihood University (NCR), Ajeenkya DY Patil University (Pune), S-VYASA (Bengaluru) and St. Mary’s (Hyderabad). Founded by Siddharth Maheshwari and Nishant Chandra, the team previously ran Newton’s online coding programs and that DNA shows up clearly. Students code from week one, work on industry-aligned projects each semester, and get paired with engineering mentors from companies like Google and Meta. Admissions are test-based via NSAT rather than purely board-marks-based, and total fees are around ₹23 lakh for a residential program.
3. Vedam School of Technology [Pune & Gurugram]
Vedam is among the most talked-about new-age tech institutes to launch in India recently. It runs a four-year undergraduate program in Computer Science and AI, with the B.Tech degree awarded through Ajeenkya DY Patil University, Pune and Sushant University, Gurugram. The founding team has spent over seven years partnering with private universities and building placement-focused tech education, with 20,000+ student outcomes, a network of 1,000+ hiring partners, and 1,028 students placed last year alone. The tech faculty — drawn from Google, Microsoft, Amazon and active Indian startups — has collectively mentored 5,000+ students into companies like Amazon, Google and Atlassian. That experience shows up in how the program is structured.
The curriculum is AI-first, and Vedam admits only the top 5% of applicants through the Vedam Scholastic Aptitude Test (VSAT). The founding cohort in its first year has already secured spots in LFX (Linux Foundation Mentorship), HackerOne, and 8+ paid internships within months of starting. Course fees sit at ₹18 lakh for the full program, with merit, women-in-tech and need-based scholarships of up to 100%. Vedam stands out among India’s new-age tech institutes for its practical learning and it’s the one to watch in 2026.
4. Masters’ Union School of Emerging Technologies, Gurugram
Masters’ Union — originally a tech-and-business school in Gurgaon’s DLF Cyberpark launched a four-year undergraduate program in Data Science & AI through its School of Emerging Technologies. The pitch is unusual: an AI-first curriculum taught by industry practitioners, with a 3+1 option to spend the final year at Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago. Students work on real projects with companies like Microsoft and Razorpay from year one. The faculty leans heavily on CXOs and operators rather than career academics. Fees are steep roughly ₹52 lakh for the full program but the global exposure and the Illinois Tech tie-up are the differentiators.
The IIT brand still carries enormous weight, and rightly so. But for students who want hands-on, industry-aligned tech education, these new-age tech institutes are building something genuinely different.