Karnataka’s Beyond Bengaluru strategy is entering a more demanding phase in the Hubballi-Dharwad-Belagavi (HDB) region. After building a base of technology companies, start-ups, institutions and talent, the region is now being asked to demonstrate whether it can attract larger operations, create high-value jobs and generate sustained investment.
The targets are ambitious. Karnataka wants the HDB region to attract 35 large companies, five Electronics System Design and Manufacturing (ESDM) firms, 10 Global Capability Centres (GCCs) and 100 start-ups over the next three to five years.
There is already a base to build on. The region has 158 IT companies, more than 800 DPIIT-recognised start-ups and around 30,000 technology and technology-enabled jobs, according to figures presented at HDB Techceleration 2026.
The more consequential question, however, is what happens next. For Karnataka, attracting companies is only the first step. The bigger test will be whether those companies establish meaningful operations, whether start-ups progress beyond incubation and whether the region can convert its graduate pipeline into sustained demand for technology and engineering talent.
Sanjeev Kumar Gupta, CEO of Karnataka Digital Economy Mission (KDEM), says, “The Hubballi-Dharwad-Belagavi region has reached an important inflection point, evolving from a nascent technology ecosystem into a cluster with a growing base of industry, start-ups, talent and institutional capabilities.”
The region’s proposition is also different from simply trying to replicate Bengaluru’s IT-services model on a smaller scale.
Hubballi has developed a growing technology and entrepreneurial base, Dharwad brings academic and research institutions, while Belagavi has an established industrial presence spanning aerospace, precision engineering and advanced manufacturing.
That combination is giving HDB a potential advantage: technology growth can be built around an existing industrial base rather than developing in isolation. The region is developing capabilities across semiconductors, ESDM, electric vehicles, AI, deep tech, Industry 4.0, advanced engineering, component manufacturing, VLSI design and agri-tech.
The response to HDB Techceleration points to growing interest. More than 700 delegates, over 100 start-ups and 25 investors participated in the summit, while KDEM said 38 companies are looking to establish operations in the region.
But participation and investment are different measures. The eventual test will be the scale and nature of the operations companies establish, particularly whether they bring engineering, product development, research and manufacturing capabilities rather than limited satellite or support offices.
That distinction will matter especially for the 10 GCCs the state wants to attract. A GCC focused on engineering, product development, analytics or research could have a very different impact on the local economy from one focused primarily on back-office or support functions.
The region’s talent base could be one of its strongest advantages. More than 35,000 graduates emerge annually from over 200 colleges, while HDB currently supports around 30,000 technology and technology-enabled jobs.
The challenge is converting that graduate pipeline into sustained industry demand. Gupta says the focus is now on execution, strengthening the IT and start-up ecosystem and converting the region’s talent pipeline into industry-ready employment.
That puts greater responsibility on companies and institutions. Government policy can provide infrastructure, funding and incubation, but the long-term viability of the cluster will depend on whether businesses see sufficient commercial value in establishing and expanding operations there.
Venkatesh Patil, Lead Industry Anchor for Belagavi and MD of Belgaum Oxygen, says, “The next phase will require greater industry participation. KDEM can create the platforms and enabling environment, but industry must work with academia, build talent and create opportunities to turn this momentum into sustained economic growth.”
Karnataka is putting public resources behind that effort. The government has committed ₹56 crore towards technology business incubators and Centres of Excellence in the region, while a ₹25 crore cluster seed fund has been announced to support early-stage start-ups and innovation. Around 2 lakh sq ft of GPC infrastructure is also planned in Belagavi over the next six months.
These interventions can help address infrastructure and early-stage funding gaps. They do not, by themselves, establish whether companies will invest at the scale envisaged by the government or remain in the region long enough to create a deeper ecosystem.
Belagavi’s manufacturing base could be particularly important here. The region already has established capabilities in aerospace and precision engineering, creating a potential link between local manufacturers and global supply chains. The summit highlighted Aequs’ engagement with Airbus, which grew from an initial US$200,000 order for 30 parts to around US$60 million annually.
The significance of such examples goes beyond the size of an individual contract. If large manufacturing anchors generate demand for engineering, components, software, automation and specialised technology, they can create supplier networks around them and give start-ups and technology companies a local market to build for.
That could provide HDB with a more self-reinforcing growth model: industrial anchors create demand, technology companies and start-ups respond to that demand, institutions supply talent and further investment follows.
It also aligns with Karnataka’s broader push to bring technology and manufacturing together through sectors such as ESDM, semiconductors, EVs, AI and Industry 4.0.
Priyank Kharge, Minister for Home, Information Technology, Biotechnology and E-Governance, Government of Karnataka, says, “This is at the heart of our Beyond Bengaluru vision – to build strong technology and innovation ecosystems across Karnataka and create opportunities closer to where talent, institutions and industry are already present.”
The challenge now is to ensure that the ecosystem does not remain dependent on government-led initiatives.
The start-up numbers illustrate the distinction. HDB already has more than 800 DPIIT-recognised start-ups, making the government’s target of 100 start-ups less a measure of basic start-up creation than an indication of the level of activity it wants the region to sustain. The more meaningful benchmark will be how many of these ventures develop customers, revenues, funding and employment and progress into scale-ups.
There are early signs of activity. Four products developed in the HDB cluster were launched at the summit, while four digital health and med-tech start-ups entered into agreements with DREAM TBI-DIMHANS. Three HDB ventures were recognised through the HDB BLUE programme and seven start-ups through Karnataka’s Elevate programme.
V. Naidu, Chairman of KDEM, says, “The state government and KDEM have created the platforms and support needed to build this momentum, and we are now seeing HDB’s growing potential as a technology and innovation cluster.”
But the next phase will require more than momentum. Karnataka’s targets provide a relatively clear set of measures against which the HDB strategy can eventually be judged: 35 large companies, five ESDM firms, 10 GCCs and 100 start-ups. What will matter is not simply whether those numbers are reached, but what functions those companies establish, how deeply they invest, how many start-ups scale and how many high-quality jobs are created.
For HDB, the next three to five years will therefore be less about proving that a technology ecosystem can be created outside Bengaluru and more about demonstrating that it can scale, connect with industry and sustain growth on its own economic fundamentals.