The country’s “startup capital”, Bengaluru, received investments of nearly $1 billion in startups over the last two years and is ahead of the rest of the cities, says Minister of State for Information Technology and Tourism Priyank Kharge.
Bengaluru has seen good competition from other cities, including Pune and Hyderabad, in the startup ecosystem, but it performed well over others, he said, and added that $1 billion coming into startups in the city did not include the funding received by Bengaluru-based unicorns.
“The State has provided a healthy atmosphere for the startups to grow unlike in other places where they get almost everything for free. While we charge a nominal sum for services offered to them, it keeps them in competitive spirit,” Mr. Kharge told The Hindu ahead of the three-day Bengaluru.ITE.biz starting on Monday. “Offering everything free to startups is an unhealthy policy,” he said.
The three-day event will have a day dedicated for startups, during which companies from Australia and Germany, among others, will participate. “More than 200 prospective startups have also registered to understand the ecosystem before they start their business,” he added.
Registrations go up
Meanwhile, registration of startups in the city with the government has gone up since the announcement of the Karnataka Startup Policy and booster kit. “From just about 27 registered startups, we now have over 2,000 that have registered with us,” Mr. Kharge said.
Incidentally, Bengaluru is estimated to have about 5,000 startups, and according to him, the average valuation of a startup in the city is about $3.5 million.
Tie-ups in the offing
The State government is likely to tie-up with Boston for Bengaluru–Boston Biotech Corridor that is expected to help exchange of ideas, skills and incubation. On the similar lines, the State is looking forward to a tie-up with Thames Valley in the U.K.
