Karnataka is rapidly cementing its position on the global tech stage, now recognised as the fifth-largest unicorn hub worldwide. According to Priyank Kharge, Karnataka’s Minister for Electronics, IT & BT, the state trails only behind leading global innovation centers like the San Francisco Bay Area Bay Area, New York, Beijing, and London. With ambitions to break into the top three, Karnataka is poised for significant growth in the coming years.
“India is home to nearly 112 unicorns, valued at approximately $320 billion, with Karnataka housing 45 of these, valued at around $160.8 billion. Furthermore, 38% of India’s 435 soon-to-be unicorns are based in Karnataka,” Kharge remarked, underlining the state’s increasing influence in the global tech arena.
Karnataka is rapidly cementing its position on the global tech stage, now recognised as the fifth-largest unicorn hub worldwide.
According to Priyank Kharge, Karnataka’s Minister for Electronics, IT & BT, while delivering a keynote at CII Innoverge 2024, the state trails only behind leading global innovation centers like the San Francisco Bay Area Bay Area, New York, Beijing, and London.
With ambitions to break into the top three, Karnataka is poised for significant growth in the coming years.
Karnataka’s thriving ecosystem boasts 1,565 venture capital and corporate venture funds, 17,164 angel investors, over 400 R&D centres, and more than 100 chip design houses. The state is also a powerhouse of tech talent, with 70% of India’s chip designers and 40% of the nation’s electronic design work originating here.
“Karnataka’s evolution from a global back office for IT services to a leading hub for research and development didn’t happen overnight,” Kharge noted.
More Centres of Excellence
Karnataka’s growth strategy includes developing multiple centres of excellence across diverse sectors. The state currently operates over 20 centres of excellence in areas such as logistics, agri-tech, animation, machine learning, and AI, and governance, often in collaboration with institutions like the Indian Institute of Science.
Looking ahead, Karnataka plans to expand its efforts into emerging fields like gaming, quantum computing, and manufacturing processes where it is yet to make a move. Kharge emphasised the importance of industry collaboration to drive these initiatives forward.
The state’s drive toward a trillion-dollar economy is fueled by its focus on innovation across sectors. Karnataka’s contributions include 52% of India’s aerospace and defence manufacturing, leadership in machine tools manufacturing, and a bio-economy that has surged by 41% over the past two years.
Growth Beyond Bengaluru
The Karnataka government is also pushing its ‘Beyond Bangalore’ initiative to nurture start-up growth across the state. The Mysuru cluster now hosts over 402 start-ups, the Bengaluru cluster has 432, and the Hubli-Dharwad-Madagavi cluster supports 463 start-ups. The government’s commitment to inclusivity is clear, with 24% of state-funded start-ups being women-led and 32 start-ups emerging from Tier II and III cities.
Programs like Innovate Karnataka, Ktech, and Startup Karnataka, particularly through the Elevate program, have played a crucial role in this growth, Kharge says. To date, the state government has funded nearly 983 start-ups, further solidifying Karnataka’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.
No competition with Telangana
Sharing data, Kharge highlights that Karnataka’s tech export performance underscores its growing prominence, with last year’s exports reaching Rs 4.5 lakh crore, double of that of Telangana.
Kharge downplayed any notion of competition between the states, highlighting Karnataka’s leadership and its 28% growth rate.
Looking ahead, Karnataka is expected to maintain a robust growth trajectory. Kharge says Bengaluru has been recognised as one of Asia’s most sustainable growth engines, with the state projected to achieve an 8.5% annual growth rate until 2035. Karnataka also ranks fourth globally in innovation ecosystems, with 85% of India’s e-commerce marketplace funding originating here. In 2023 alone, Karnataka raised $15.1 billion for its start-ups.
Kharge concluded by stressing the importance of collaboration between industry and government to keep driving innovation and growth in Karnataka.