Bengaluru, often hailed as India's Silicon Valley, is gearing up to host the 29th edition of its flagship technology event, the Bengaluru Tech Summit (BTS 2026), scheduled from November 17-19 at the Bangalore International Exhibition Centre (BIEC). The Karnataka government officially announced the summit, with Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar highlighting its theme "AI & Beyond," which aims to explore the transformative potential of artificial intelligence and other frontier technologies. BTS 2026 is poised to be Asia's largest technology show, expected to attract over 1,800 exhibitors, 25,000 delegates, 1,000 tech startups, and more than 60,000 business visitors from over 75 countries.
Beyond the grand summit, the state government is actively strengthening its startup ecosystem through key initiatives. A significant development is the launch of the Innoverse Foundation, dedicated to mentoring and globally scaling revenue-generating deep-tech startups. Complementing this, the Elevate NxT 2026 program recently selected 33 promising startups, with a remarkable 24 of these hailing from Bengaluru and four from other parts of Karnataka. Each of these selected ventures, including 12 women-led startups, stands to receive substantial grants ranging from ₹85 lakh to ₹1 crore. These programs underscore Karnataka's commitment to fostering innovation in areas like AI, DeepTech, Electronics & Semiconductors, Biotechnology, and SpaceTech, solidifying its position as a global leader in emerging technologies and a nurturing ground for new-age entrepreneurs.
Karnataka has emerged as India's top state in semiconductor design and innovation, recording 81 supported organisations and 73 chip tape-outs via the ChipIN Centre.
Karnataka IT Minister Priyank Kharge announced plans to scale up the Hubballi-Dharwad-Belagavi tech corridor. Speaking at HDB Techceleration 2026, he outlined targets to attract 35 large firms, 10 GCCs, and 100 startups to the cluster.
Syrma SGS Technology and Italy's Elemaster Group have launched a 20,000-square-foot advanced electronics manufacturing facility in Bengaluru's Bommasandra Industrial Area.
Bengaluru-based advanced photonics startup Olee.space has been selected by the Union Government as the development partner for a ₹70-crore strategic technology programme aimed at scaling optical tech manufacturing.
