Karnataka accounts for 55% of India’s start-up valuations, over 40% of unicorns, says state IT minister

Karnataka IT&BT Minister CN Ashwath Narayan said over 40 per cent of unicorns in the country belong to the state and it accounts for 55 per cent of the country’s start-up ecosystem’s valuation.

Speaking at the curtain raiser press meet for Bengaluru Tech Summit (BTS), Narayan said Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the event and address the gathering virtually. The 25th edition of BTS will be held from November 16 to 18, 2022.

“BTS is today a landmark event recognized globally and puts India on the global technology map, making it one of the leading technology summits in the country. Our future will be defined by current innovations and technological advancements, which is at the heart of BTS2022 – ‘Tech4NexGen’. The summit this year will focus on future technologies, along with electronics, IT, deep tech, biotech and start-ups,” he said.

Over 300 start-ups will exhibit their products and services at the event, which will have multi-track conference on IT and electronics, deep tech, start-ups and biotech besides featuring Global Innovation Alliance and India USA Tech Conclave. The start-up track at the event will focus on digital public goods, fintech, robotics, women in tech, capital beyond VCs, social entrepreneurship and grassroot innovation.

Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal recently said the overall valuation of India’s start-ups is now close to Rs 3 lakh crore. As per Invest India’s web portal, country is home to 107 unicorns with a total valuation of $340.79 billion as of September 7, 2022.

A host of global leaders including French President Emmanuel Macron; Omar Bin Sultan Al Olama, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications, UAE; Tim Watts, Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs, Australia; Petri Honkonen, Minister of Science and Culture of Finland, Finland will address the event virtually. Martin Schroeter, Chairman & CEO, Kyndryl and Naveen Tewari, Founder & CEO, Inmobi, will also be attending the inaugural function.

Among the several tracks of discussions, the ITE and deep tech track will focus on AI, hybrid cloud, 5G, edge computing, fintech, ESG, spacetech, electronics and semiconductor manufacturing, EV and mobility, and AVGC. Biotech Track will have deliberations on genomics, biopharma, gene editing and agriculture, and bio investing.

Over 350 domain experts from over 20 countries will address 70+ sessions attracting 5000 business delegates.

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