Karnataka’s 'beyond-Bengaluru push' attracted 15 firms, created over 1,600 jobs in FY25

(File Photo) Bengaluru Tech Summit, 2024.

As part of its "Beyond Bengaluru" initiative, Karnataka attracted more than 15 new companies to its emerging tech clusters in Mysuru, Hubballi-Dharwad and Belagavi in the previous financial year, creating around 1,600 jobs in these tier-2 cities.

“All the companies that have expanded to these clusters have found it to be valuable, both in terms of scale-up opportunities and workforce quality,” Karnataka’s IT-BT secretary Ekroop Caur said at the Global Innovation Alliance (GIA) Partners Meet at BTS 2025.

The cluster development strategy, focused on cost arbitrage, talent access, and lower attrition appears to be paying off, with startups and tech firms increasingly looking at these cities as alternatives or complements to Bengaluru, she said.

The state is promoting three large and three mid-sized clusters in the first phase. Delegations from countries such as the US and Belgium have already visited these regions. Some also signed letters of intent (LoIs) at the last year’s Bengaluru Tech Summit (BTS) and are expected to enter into a formal MoUs with the state soon.

Caur also presented the roadmap for 2025 BTS, which is expected to draw in over 1,000 investors, 2,000 startup founders and over a lakh attendees.

To accelerate regional innovation, the state launched the Local Economy Accelerator Programme (LEAP), a Rs 1,000 crore, five-year project aimed at establishing incubators, CoEs, and entrepreneurship programmes in these cities. A Rs 100-crore deep tech fund under Elevate Next has also been set up to support startups across Karnataka.

Plug-and-play infrastructure is being developed under the banner of the Global Technology Center in Mysuru, which is also being promoted as an electronics and PCB manufacturing hub.

The state is positioning these emerging cities as “spokes” to Bengaluru’s “hub,” providing local STEM talent to companies, which can benefiting from more cost-effective structures.