Government of Karnataka

The Government of Karnataka is the state administration of India's technology and startup hub, with Bengaluru as its capital. Its Department of Electronics, IT, BT and S&T, working alongside the Karnataka Innovation and Technology Society (KITS), administers a startup-support programme that ranks among the earliest and largest in the country.

The Elevate programme awards grant-in-aid of up to ₹50 lakh to innovative early-stage startups, chosen through a competitive idea-to-product evaluation. Thousands of startups have received support under Elevate, which also operates dedicated tracks including Elevate Women and scale-up cohorts.

Further support comes through the Karnataka Startup Policy, whose state Fund of Funds invests via SEBI-registered AIFs, and through Idea2PoC grants for proof-of-concept work. The New Age Innovation Network (NAIN) backs student and academic innovation across districts. The state maintains a network of incubators and Centres of Excellence in AI, robotics, cybersecurity, aerospace, animation/VFX and biotech, while the Beyond Bengaluru initiative extends the ecosystem to Mysuru, Hubballi and Mangaluru. Priority sectors include deeptech, AI/ML, SaaS, biotech and life sciences, fintech, cleantech, aerospace and defence, and emerging technologies. DPIIT-recognised startups registered in Karnataka may apply, subject to prescribed age and turnover limits, with relaxed criteria for women-led and student ventures. Founders building IP-rich ventures who seek substantial non-dilutive grants (Elevate, Idea2PoC) and Fund-of-Funds access should register on the Karnataka startup portal and follow Elevate cohorts through karnataka.gov.in or startup.karnataka.gov.in.