Minister for Electronics, IT&BT Priyank Kharge at Bengaluru Tech Summit 2025 in Bengaluru.
| Photo Credit: SUDHAKARA JAIN
The State government and multiple Venture Capital (VC) firms together disbursed ₹400 crore to several deep-tech start-ups at the Future Makers’ Conclave held as part of the 28th edition of Bengaluru Technology Summit, a three-day State-organised exposition which concluded here on Thursday.
About 16 VCs participated in the funding and 25 deep-tech ventures were funded by them while six companies were funded under the State government’s Elevate funding programme, taking the total size of disbursements to ₹400 crore.
Promise to VCs
“We will ensure that the progress is accelerated. Together we will build an ecosystem that is unmatched,‘’ Priyank Kharge, Minister for IT-BT, assured the VCs. It was the first time ever, a government and a pack of VCs came together to distribute funds to start-ups, he claimed.
He also expressed gratitude to the VC community which had come forward to partner with the start-ups and disrupt the way the world looks at India.
According to the Minister, deep-tech today is making Karnataka the most innovative tech hub in the country.
Indicating the increasing focus on deep-tech, he said some 11,000 attendees, including founders, entrepreneurs, investors, mentors, and ecosystem leaders participated at the Future Makers Conclave, organised as a simple step taken by the State government to bring the entire ecosystem players under a single roof.
Some 143 companies were announced as winners of the last round of Elevate. “These are the disruptors, innovators and future makers to inspire the rest of the country to solve real-world problems,’’ the Minister said. Elevate is Karnataka’s platform to mentor and fund promising companies within the State. So far, under this programme, 1,084 companies were funded.
Pitches to investors
The three-day tech extravaganza had over 90,000 attendees and 20,680 delegates from 57 countries; some 46,389 were business visitors. As many as 1,015 exhibitors displayed their tech products and solutions. The summit also had 146 curated cross pitches from start-ups to 36 investors, with another 162 pitches scheduled to happen next week under the BTS banner. There were a total of 107 mentor and mentee sessions during the summit.
Published – November 20, 2025 11:27 pm IST
