Karnataka has introduced a brand new startup coverage for 2025–2030, outlining a plan to ascertain 25,000 new startups over the subsequent 5 years—with at the least 10,000 anticipated to emerge from clusters past Bengaluru.
The state has earmarked Rs 570.675 crore for the coverage, which focuses on funding entry, incubation infrastructure, market growth, and regulatory facilitation, in response to a authorities assertion.
The coverage locations robust emphasis on decentralising startup exercise past Bengaluru and prioritises sectors reminiscent of synthetic intelligence, blockchain, quantum computing, biotechnology and sustainability-linked applied sciences. It additionally highlights seven focus areas: funding and grants, incubation and infrastructure, mentoring and ability growth, market entry and growth, worldwide collaboration, inclusion and sustainability, and regulatory facilitation.
As a part of the rollout, the federal government launched a Rs 75-crore ‘Past Bengaluru Cluster Seed Fund’ to spice up startup exercise in rising non-metro areas. The fund has a Rs 20-crore dedication from the state, whereas the rest might be mobilised from institutional and personal participation. It’s going to initially concentrate on the clusters of Mysuru, Mangaluru and Hubballi–Dharwad.
The fund will deploy fairness and equity-linked investments starting from Rs 50 lakh per startup, topic to regulatory limits, and can goal sectors together with info know-how, electronics and semiconductor manufacturing, biotechnology, and AVGC (animation, visible results, gaming and comics).
Karnataka additionally introduced ELEVATE NxT, a Rs 150-crore deeptech grant programme underneath its Native Economic system Accelerator Program, providing as much as Rs 1 crore per startup in milestone-based funding. The programme is open to startups throughout India working in areas reminiscent of AI, robotics, biotech, quantum applied sciences, and inexperienced power.
The bulletins had been made at an occasion recognising 146 startups chosen underneath the ELEVATE 2025 programme. The startups will obtain a complete dedicated grant of Rs 38.85 crore. About 43% of the chosen startups had been women-led, and an equal proportion had been based mostly exterior Bengaluru, the Karnataka authorities stated.
Since its launch in 2017, the ELEVATE programme has disbursed Rs 287.85 crore in grants to 1,230 startups throughout the state, in response to official knowledge.
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