TIME100 Next 2026: Indians and Indian-origin names among the world’s most influential rising stars

(Oct 3, 2026) Five Indians and people of Indian origin feature in TIME100 Next 2026, the annual list of 100 rising figures TIME identifies as shaping the next generation. They span space technology, cricket, luxury resale, entertainment and immigration advocacy, with journeys stretching from India to the US and UK.

TIME launched TIME100 Next in 2019 with the belief that the nature of influence was changing, recognising that emerging leaders could build influence early and through channels beyond traditional power structures. The 2026 edition features rising figures across five categories: Artists, Phenoms, Leaders, Advocates and Innovators. Among the names are Pawan Kumar Chandana, co-founder and CEO of Skyroot Aerospace; Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, the teenage cricket sensation; Rati Sahi Levesque, President and CEO of The RealReal; Himesh Patel, the British-Indian actor; and Swapna Reddy, co-founder and co-executive director of the Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project.

The Global Indian takes a look at their journeys and the paths that brought them to TIME100 Next 2026.

Pawan Kumar Chandana: Hyderabad’s private space pioneer

TIME100 Next Leader | Skyroot founder who took India’s first privately developed rocket to orbit

Born in Hyderabad, Telangana, Pawan Kumar Chandana developed an early interest in machines and technology before pursuing engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur. He joined IIT Kharagpur in 2007 and completed a dual B.Tech-M.Tech programme in Mechanical Engineering in 2012. His interest in rockets grew during his college years, eventually taking him to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), where he worked as a scientist at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre in Thiruvananthapuram.

At ISRO, Chandana worked on major launch-vehicle programmes, including the GSLV Mk-III and its S-200 solid rocket booster, and was involved with the Small Satellite Launch Vehicle. The experience gave him a close view of India’s launch-vehicle engineering and helped shape his ambition to build a private space company. In 2018, he left ISRO and co-founded Skyroot Aerospace in Hyderabad with fellow former ISRO engineer Naga Bharath Daka.

Skyroot went on to develop the Vikram series of launch vehicles. Its Vikram-S became India’s first privately developed rocket to reach space in 2022. The company’s defining milestone came in July 2026, when Vikram-1 successfully reached orbit, making Skyroot the first Indian private company to place a rocket into orbit. Chandana, as co-founder and CEO, has since continued to focus on commercial launch services and the development of India’s private space ecosystem. TIME included him among its 2026 business, technology and AI leaders.

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi: Cricket’s teenage record-breaker

TIME100 Next Phenom | India’s youngest IPL centurion and rising international star

Born in 2011, in Tajpur, Samastipur district, Bihar, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi began playing cricket when he was four. His father, Sanjiv Sooryavanshi, an aspiring cricketer himself, recognised his son’s ability early. At around eight, Vaibhav began training at Manish Ojha’s GenNex Cricket Academy in Patna, with his father making the roughly 100-km journey from Samastipur for training.

Alongside cricket, Sooryavanshi has continued his school education at Dr Mukteshwar Sinha Modesty School in Tajpur, where he prepared for his CBSE Class 10 examinations but skipped the exams due to his career in sports. His increasingly demanding cricket schedule has made balancing academics and elite sport difficult.

His cricket career accelerated rapidly. He made his first-class debut for Bihar in 2024 at 12, then became the youngest player signed at an IPL auction when Rajasthan Royals acquired him ahead of the 2025 season. He made his IPL debut at 14 and subsequently became the youngest centurion in men’s T20 cricket after hitting a 35-ball century. His 2026 season brought further records, followed by senior international recognition. He was part of India’s Under-19 World Cup-winning campaign and scored 175 in the final against England. He subsequently entered India’s senior T20I setup.

At 15, Sooryavanshi is the youngest person on TIME100 Next 2026 and one of seven athletes on the list. TIME placed him in its “Phenoms” category, recognising his rapid rise in international cricket.

Rati Sahi Levesque: San Francisco’s luxury resale leader

TIME100 Next Phenom | The RealReal CEO driving the growth of luxury resale

Born and raised in San Francisco, Rati Sahi Levesque grew up in a family that ran a restaurant in the city’s Nob Hill neighbourhood. She studied Business Management Economics at the University of California, Santa Cruz, graduating with a bachelor’s degree. Before entering fashion and technology, she worked in the financial sector. She subsequently launched Anica, a fashion boutique in San Francisco’s Russian Hill neighbourhood, building a business that combined physical retail with an online presence and developed a following for avant-garde and luxury consignment pieces.

That experience led her to The RealReal, where she joined founder Julie Wainwright in 2011 as the company’s first employee. The RealReal was developing a digital marketplace for authenticated luxury resale, and Levesque became closely involved in building its merchandising and commercial operations. She served as Director of Merchandise, then Chief Merchant, overseeing merchandising and sales strategy, warehouse operations and other parts of the company’s business.

Her responsibilities expanded as the company grew. She became President and COO, overseeing revenue channels, operations, the authentication centre and retail footprint, while also leading merchandising, editorial and creative direction. She became President in 2021 and was appointed President and CEO in October 2024. As CEO, she leads The RealReal, a major online marketplace for authenticated luxury resale, at a time when the resale market is becoming an increasingly significant part of luxury retail.

TIME placed her in its “Phenoms” category. Her selection adds an Indian-origin business leader from the luxury and technology space to this year’s list.

Himesh Patel: From British TV to global screens

TIME100 Next Innovator | From EastEnders to international film, television and music

Born in Sawtry, Cambridgeshire, England, Himesh Patel is a British actor whose parents are both of Indian Gujarati heritage. His mother was born in Zambia and his father in Kenya, and Patel grew up speaking Gujarati. He attended Prince William School in Oundle, Northamptonshire, where his interest in performance became apparent at an early age.

At 11, Patel appeared in a school production and was subsequently encouraged by a teacher to join the Key Youth Theatre in Peterborough. He later became part of The Young Actors’ Company in Cambridge, where he took film classes. He also developed musical skills, learning piano and teaching himself guitar. His route into professional acting came while he was still a teenager. At 16, he auditioned for the BBC soap opera EastEnders and won the role of Tamwar Masood, making his television debut in 2007.

Patel remained with EastEnders for several years before moving into other television and film work. His international breakthrough came with Danny Boyle’s Yesterday in 2019, in which he played Jack Malik, a struggling musician who becomes famous by performing songs by The Beatles after a global event leaves him apparently as the only person who remembers the band. The role showcased not only his acting but also his singing and guitar playing.

He subsequently appeared in films including Tenet and Don’t Look Up, and played the lead role of Jeevan Chaudhary in HBO’s Station Eleven, earning a Primetime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie. His later work has continued across film and television, including Christopher Nolan’s 2026 film The Odyssey. TIME included the entertainer among its innovators on the 2026 TIME100 Next list.

Swapna Reddy: Using law and technology for asylum seekers

TIME100 Next Advocate | Co-founder helping asylum seekers navigate America’s immigration system

Swapna Reddy is an Indian-origin American lawyer, technologist and immigration advocate who grew up in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, in a family of Indian immigrants. She studied Computer Science and Mathematics at Harvard University, with a minor in Economics, graduating magna cum laude. She was also a John Harvard Scholar, and her undergraduate research in artificial intelligence was published.

Before turning fully toward immigration law and advocacy, Reddy worked in technical and empirical research. Her experience included AI research at Harvard and work connected with the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab, the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and other organisations. Her interests increasingly moved toward using technology and research to address problems identified by communities themselves.

She subsequently earned her law degree from Yale Law School, where she became involved in immigration legal work and co-founded the Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project (ASAP) with three other Yale students. Reddy has worked with organisations including the National Immigrant Justice Center and the Yale Worker & Immigrant Rights Advocacy Clinic, combining legal practice with technology and community organising.

Today, Reddy is co-founder and co-executive director of ASAP, a membership organisation working with asylum seekers across the United States. The organisation says it serves more than 600,000 asylum seekers from more than 175 countries. Its model involves asylum seekers participating in setting priorities and advocacy efforts, including work around employment authorisation and access to legal information. TIME placed Reddy among its Advocates and changemakers for 2026. Her inclusion brings an Indian-origin perspective to a list that spans technology, law, immigration and community advocacy.

Together, the five names illustrate the varied ways people of Indian heritage are building careers and influence across fields and geographies, earning recognition on the global stage.

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