NEWS

• Bengaluru Innovation Report 2025, released at the Bengaluru Tech Summit (BTS), declares the city as India’s AI and quantum computing capital.
• The city attracts 58% of India’s AI startup funding (USD 872 million in five years).
• Ranked 5th among the Top-50 global AI cities, behind Silicon Valley, New York, Beijing and London.
• AI giants OpenAI, Anthropic, Graphcore have set up offices in the city.

HIGHLIGHTS

Talent, Startups & Unicorn Ecosystem

• Home to 2.5 million software engineers; accounts for 40–45% of India’s tech hiring.
• 50% of India’s AI/ML talent resides in Karnataka.
• Karnataka hosts 16 Centres of Excellence in AI, fintech, and quantum computing.
• Bengaluru has 1,600 women-led startups, raising USD 13.4 billion.
• India’s largest unicorn hub after global majors:
  • 53 unicorns worth USD 192 billion
  • Contribute 42% of India’s unicorn valuation
• 39 soonicorns underline the city’s innovation pipeline.

Quantum City & Government Push

• Karnataka unveils plan for India’s first Quantum City (Q-City) at Hesaraghatta (6 acres).
• Investment: ₹1,000 crore under the Karnataka Quantum Mission.
• Facilities:
  • Quantum hardware park
  • Cryogenic labs
  • Cloud clusters
  • Deep-tech startup zone
• Additional ₹1,136 crore approved for the Quantum Supremacy Centre.
• International collaborations initiated, including Swiss–Karnataka Quantum Collaboration Centre.

Innovation & Patent Leadership

• Between 2020–23, Bengaluru recorded India’s highest patents in:
  • Computer Science (503)
  • Electronics (473)
  • Communication (441)
• State launched 50 new startup products across AI, MedTech, AgriTech, DeepTech, IoT, cybersecurity, and clean energy at BTS 2025.

Future of Space: ISRO Updates

• ISRO Chairman V. Narayanan announced two new launchpads at Sriharikota and Kulasekarapattinam.
• Upcoming missions: LVM3-M6 and Bluebird Block-2.
• ISRO achievements (past decade):
  • 61 launch missions
  • 63 Indian satellites
  • 398 foreign satellites, totalling 461 launches.