Karnataka’s information technology and biotechnology minister Priyank Kharge said that the state government has provided seed funding worth INR 264 Cr to 983 startups till date
Of the total funding, the Karnataka government provided an aid of INR 60 Cr to 263 startups under its ELEVATE scheme in 2022 and 2023
Kharge also said that the government is looking at startups to solve the various problems faced by the state
Karnataka’s information technology and biotechnology (IT-BT) minister Priyank Kharge said that the state government has provided seed funding worth INR 264 Cr to 983 startups till date.
The minister made the remarks during the ELEVATE winners’ felicitation ceremony held on July 24 in Bengaluru.
The ELEVATE scheme was launched by Karnataka’s department of electronics information technology biotechnology and science technology. Its goal is to provide support to entrepreneurs across the state who need early-stage funding to develop prototypes, strategise market entry, and scale up.
The initiative is also backed by the department of social welfare and backward class welfare, and the Kalyana Karnataka Region Development Board.
Of the total funding, the Karnataka government provided an aid of INR 60 Cr to 263 startups under its ELEVATE scheme in 2022 and 2023.
Of these, 47 startups were led by women entrepreneurs and 119 startups were based out of Tier I, II cities in the state.
The Karnataka government provided grants worth INR 4 Cr to 26 startups under its Amrita Startups 2022 (entrepreneurship and innovation by OBC entrepreneurs) scheme.
Meanwhile, funds worth INR 4 Cr were allocated to 19 startups under the ELEVATE Kalyana Karnataka 2022 (supporting entrepreneurship in North Karnataka) scheme.
Further, the government provided funding of INR 5.5 Cr to 17 startups under the ELEVATE Unnati (identifying and nurturing startups led by SC & ST entrepreneurs) programme, and INR 45.7 Cr to 201 startups under the ELEVATE 2023 scheme.
The startups which have benefited from the ELEVATE scheme are working on emerging technologies across sectors such as cleantech, smart city solutions, IT/ITES, healthcare, biotechnology, medtech and agritech.
Meanwhile, Kharge also said that the government is looking at startups to solve the various problems faced by the state.
“We will come up with summits for innovations, urban solutions, water, and the circular economy. The idea of these summits is to solve real-life problems. We will also conduct small challenges to address issues affecting the government and our people, which startups could help solve,” Kharge was quoted as saying by Moneycontrol.
Last month, Kharge said Karnataka is expected to attract investment of $6.2 Bn in technology sectors such as biotechnology, AI, semiconductors, AVGC (animation, visual effects, gaming, and comics), and healthtech from the US and Europe.
Notably, Benglauru continues to be the top startup hub of India. In the first half of 2024, Benglaluru-based startups raised $1.57 Bn across 134 deals.
