(MENAFN- ForPressRelease) Bengaluru, 19th November 2025: On the sidelines of the Bengaluru Tech Summit (BTS) 2025, the Hon'ble Minister for IT/BT Shri Priyank Kharge addressed the media today to announce a series of landmark initiatives including LoIs, MoUs, training and skilling partnerships, to accelerate Karnataka's transformation into a global technology and skilling powerhouse. With Bengaluru as the hub of technology innovation, the GoK is now disseminating the State's progress to Beyond Bengaluru.

The Government announced several LoIs and MoUs under LEAP including Elevate Next (Deeptech) and Elevate Beyond Bengaluru. "I would like to draw the attention of our start-up community to two new initiatives being launched under our flagship Local Economy Accelerator Program (LEAP) - Elevate Next (Deeptech) and Elevate Beyond Bengaluru. LEAP is a five year, INR 1,000 crore initiative, designed to strengthen emerging clusters outside Bengaluru by providing access to infrastructure, funding, and sector-specific support, while reinforcing Karnataka's leadership in advanced and disruptive technologies. By adopting a full start-up lifecycle approach, LEAP will nurture innovation from ideation to commercialization, empowering start-ups in the technology and innovation space," the Minister said.

He announced a series of LoIs worth INR 2600 crores were signed with leading innovators and enterprises that have committed significant investments to Karnataka, boosting the state's manufacturing and innovation landscape. These LoIs, yielding 3,500 direct and indirect jobs, were signed across semi-con, EV battery and biotech sector.

Under the LEAP initiative, Elevate Next (Deeptech) will commence on 1st January, offering targeted grant-in- aid to nurture cutting-edge innovation, while Elevate Beyond Bengaluru, launching on 1st February, is designed to accelerate entrepreneurial growth in tier-2 and tier-3 cities. Together, these flagship programs will decentralize opportunities, foster vibrant innovation hubs across the state, and ensure that Karnataka's start- up story remains inclusive, future-ready, and globally competitive. As part of this, 40 start-ups under Elevate Next (Deeptech) will receive grants ranging from INR 50 lakhs to INR 1 crore, while 50 start-ups under Elevate Beyond Bengaluru will be supported with grants of up to INR 50 lakhs.

MoU signed

The Electronics Sector Skills Counci (ESSCI), GoK, also signed an MoU with Marvell Marvell Semiconductor has collaborated with ESSCI to train 90 women in semiconductor - VLSI design and embedded skills. Through this partnership, Marvell is fully sponsoring the program, which is being delivered across tier-2 and tier-3 cities in Karnataka. The initiative is integrated with graduation-level programs, enabling young women to gain industry-relevant, job-ready semiconductor skills as part of their academic pathway.

Mission Employability with leading corporates

The GoK, which has always given top priority to skilling programmes to build a future-ready workforce today announced the launch of NIPUNA Karnataka, a path-breaking initiative to skill for 4,000 youth in collaboration with leading corporate partners. In this first phase, the Government has approved skill-development programs across four leading skilling aggregators in partnership with reputed corporate employers: Capgemini, Wells Fargo, Standard Chartered and Sumeru. Training partners are ICT Academy, ARWS, FUEL, and AISECT.

NIPUNA aims at targeted training in high-demand fields, including artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and data science. Over 2,800 job opportunities are expected as part of this mission.

All participating skilling aggregators have a strong track record of connecting talent to leading employers such as Accenture, TCS, Wipro, Mphasis, Hexaware, 3i Infotech, Honeywell, DXC Technologies,Ramco System, Genpact, NTT Data, Sify, Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, Jio, Bank Bazaar, Datamatics, Atos Syntel, Patni Computer Systems, Zebra Technologies, Aditya Birla Group, and Muthoot Finance. This reflects the wide spectrum of employment opportunities available to the 4,000 Nipuna beneficiaries across multiple sectors.

Nipuna Karnataka is rapidly gaining national attention as a powerful collaborative model where corporates and skilling aggregators work hand-in-hand to shape the next-generation workforce. This momentum has already encouraged several major employers across IT, ESDM, Biotech, and BFSI sectors to submit expressions of interest jointly with their skilling partners to skill an additional 10,000 youth, with the aspiration of enabling 7,000 more jobs across the state.

Elevate: Nurturing for scalability

Through Elevate, the State identifies and nurtures innovative start-ups and provides them with the much- needed impetus at various stages through funding, mentoring and incubation, making them scalable and sustainable. Karnataka is the first State in the country to initiate grant-in-aid to start-ups without taking an equity stake. This innovative programme helps entrepreneurs transform ideas into viable businesses.

Today, the GoK is pleased to announce the rollout of two major initiatives under the flagship Local Economy Accelerator Program (LEAP) - Deeptech Elevate and Elevate Beyond Bengaluru.

Deeptech Elevate will commence on 1 January 2026, providing targeted grant-in-aid to accelerate cutting-edge Deeptech innovation. Elevate Beyond Bengaluru, launching on 1 February 2026, is focused on catalysing entrepreneurial growth in tier-2 and tier-3 cities, thereby decentralizing opportunities and building vibrant regional innovation hubs.

As part of this initiative: 40 start-ups selected under Deeptech Elevate will receive grants ranging from INR50 lakhs to INR 1 crore, and 50 start-ups under Elevate Beyond Bengaluru will be supported with grants of up to INR 50 lakhs.

INR300 crores have been earmarked for a Fund-of-Funds, with another INR100 crore focused on deep-tech innovation under LEAP, showing government and private investor alignment to boost deep-tech and digital inclusion.

Elevate Idea2PoC supported 1,227 start-ups, including 25 women-led and 30 Beyond Bengaluru winners - dramatic growth from only 300 applications in 2017 to 1,780 in 2025.

16 Centers of Excellence spanning AI, FinTech, ESDM, and Biotech have supported hundreds of deep-tech and life sciences start-ups, with these sectors leading in patents, funding, and job creation across Karnataka.

Start-up product showcase

The Department of Electronics, GoK also showcased 50 innovative products/solutions by start-ups. The innovative products/solutions developed are multi-disciplinary and are sector-agnostic ranging from IT/ITeS, Agri-Tech, Med-Tech, Health care/Wellness, Clean-Tech, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Deep Tech,IoT, Cybersecurity, SAAS, R&D, AVGC and ESDM. The products/ solutions include Electronic based devices using Artificial Intelligence (AI) and IoT (Internet of Things), Automotive Manufacturing, Avionics & Defence, Effluent Air Treatment, SaaS platform, Apps to prevent fraudulent transactions, Digital Theatre Platform, Smart Warehousing, satcom solutions and Deep Tech based platforms for Quality Assessment.

Majority of the start-ups are incubated in Government of Karnataka supported incubators such as K-tech Innovation Hubs, Centres of Excellence (CoEs) and Technology Business Incubators (TBIs) anchored by IISc, associations like NASSCOM, IESA and BBC etc and have developed these innovative products/solutions using the state of art facilities available at the K-tech Innovation Hubs/ CoEs/TBIs. Most of the start-ups are also recipient of the Government's flagship event - Idea2PoC (Proof of Concept) ELEVATE Grant-in-aid seed funding program for start-ups.

Key Insights of Bengaluru Innovation Report

AI and Quantum Capital: Bengaluru is now recognized as India's AI and Quantum Computing hotspot, attracting global giants like OpenAI, Anthropic, and Graphcore. The city accounts for 58% of India's AI start-up funding in the last five years and is home to 872 million USD in AI investments leading the nation in both funding and deal count.

Unicorn Powerhouse: Bengaluru is the fifth largest unicorn hub globally (after Silicon Valley, New York, Beijing, and London), with 53 unicorns valued at 192 billion USD. This is more than any other Indian city, and Bengaluru's unicorns contribute 42% of India's total unicorn valuation.

Soonicorn Magnet: The city leads in nurturing Soonicorns - startups with unicorn potential. Bengaluru has 39 Soonicorns, far ahead of Delhi-NCR (30) and Mumbai (21). These high-growth start-ups have raised 16.3 billion USD, demonstrating Bengaluru's dominance in building the next generation of global tech leaders.

Global Capability Centers (GCCs): Bengaluru hosts 40% of India's GCCs - the highest in the country and is aiming to double this by 2029. These centers are not just back-office hubs but are increasingly becoming global innovation engines, driving R&D and IP creation for global markets.

Deep-Tech and Patent Leadership: Between 2020 and 2023, Bengaluru recorded the highest number of patents in Computer Science (503), Electronics (473), and Communication (441) in India. The city's score of 910 in the global patents metric is comparable to Silicon Valley and Tokyo, highlighting its strength in IP generation and applied innovation.

Women-Led Innovation: Bengaluru leads India in women-led start-ups, with 1,600 active women-led start-ups since 2010 and 10 billion USD in funding raised. This is a testament to the ecosystem's inclusivity and the government's targeted support for diversity in entrepreneurship.

Beyond Bengaluru: Scale & Impact

Over 450 Beyond Bengaluru start-ups have engaged in state cluster initiatives, supported by the Cluster Seed Fund and Karnataka Accelerator Network, ensuring local start-ups outside Bengaluru have capital and mentorship to scale globally.

Major emerging clusters such as Mangaluru, Mysuru, and Hubballi-Dharwad are now "Cluster-as-a-Product" destinations. Mangaluru, for instance, saw its tech firm Novigo Solutions acquired for INR 950 crores, projecting national and global investor confidence in non-metro start-ups.

The state's cluster program has delivered office infrastructure of 3.35 lakh sq. (Mangaluru) and 160,000 sq. (Mysuru - now with 1,246 global clients served from the region). Plug-and-play infrastructure, cluster seed funds, and a growing local investor pool are catalyzing innovation in over six emerging technology hubs beyond Bengaluru, establishing Karnataka as a network of digital districts.

Exit Velocity:

Start-ups in Bengaluru achieve the fastest average time to exit (6.8 years) among 13 global hubs - faster than Silicon Valley (7.9 years) and Beijing (8.3 years). This speed reflects the maturity, investor confidence, and market-readiness of Bengaluru's ecosystem.

Investor Choices & Preferred Sectors:

Bengaluru attracted 46% of all venture capital deployed in India since 2016, with $79 billion raised by its startups since 2010.

2024-25 saw a 26% rise in seed funding; Bengaluru-based start-ups captured 82% of India's AI application- layer funding, reflecting investor conviction in early-stage deep-tech and AI ventures.

53% of leading Indian investors rank AI (particularly AI agents and application-layer start-ups) as their top investment focus for 2025.

Investors also showed strong preference for sectors like FinTech, SaaS, Climate Tech, Deep Tech, Life Sciences, and native AI, with Bengaluru responsible for over 50% of Indian startup funding in Transportation & Logistics, EdTech, and the Gig Economy.

Together, these programs reaffirm Karnataka's commitment to building an inclusive, future-ready, and globally competitive start-up ecosystem.

Company:-Dentsu Creative PR

User:- Shailendra Kumar Jha

Email:[email protected]

MENAFN20112025003198003206ID1110371043