Bangalore-Karnataka has been described as the world’s fastest-growing tech hub and the Indian city is home to the R&D centers of some of the world’s most famous tech companies, including Amazon, Microsoft, Facebook, and Google. Its IT sector employs over four million people, and accounts for an estimated $130 billion in exports every year.

The Government of Karnataka was the first Indian state government to establish a dedicated Startup Cell to promote its ecosystem. Innovate Karnataka provides financial support to startups through various funds and Idea2PoC grants, which provide early-stage funding to concepts that have yet to establish proof of concept. The Karnataka Digital Economy Mission launched the Beyond Bengaluru Startup Grid in November 2021 to support startups in the state outside of Bangalore-Karnataka, and a startup incubation center set up by the Bangalore Chamber of Industry and Commerce opened in February 2022. The Maruti Suzuki Incubation Program aims to help startups develop industry-ready solutions and become large-scale businesses. Karnataka took home 30% of the total startup awards at the National Startup Awards 2021, during Startup India Innovation Week.

Notable recent funding deals in the ecosystem include online learning platform Vedantu’s $2 million Series E in February 2022, electric scooter company Ather Energy’s ₹4.2 billion ($55.7 million) Series D in January 2022, and food delivery service Swiggy’s $700 million round, also in January.