“The 27^th Bengaluru Tech Summit (BTS) 2024 organised by the Department of Electronics, IT and Bt, Government of Karnataka between November 19-21, 2024 at the Bangalore Palace, will be showcasing 50 cutting-edge products and tech solutions across 30 sectors, including Healthtech, Agritech, Manufacturing, Edutech, and more from startups at the Startup Pavilion” said Priyank Kharge, Minister for Information Technology & Biotechnology and Rural Development & Panchayat Raj, Government of Karnataka.

Speaking to media in Bangalore on November 16, the Minister said “BTS 2024 promises to be a pivotal platform for startups, with 2500+ startup from India and beyond are attending the summit. At the Startup Springboard, over 300 startups will showcase their offerings and solutions before over 100 investors and venture capitalists from across the country. This will help the companies to attract the attentions of the investor’s community and mentors. This is first of its kind initiative being organized by any state in the country.”

Some of the mentors such as Dr Sridhar Ramanathan, Sr. Vice President, IKP; G. S. Krishnan, President, Association for Biotech-Led Enterprises (ABLE), Dr. Taslimarif Saiyed, Director & Chief Executive Officer, Centre for Cellular and Molecular Platforms (C-CAMP) and Raj Nayan Datta, Partner, Waterbridge Ventures will talk to startups so as to help them to navigate upcoming challenges in their startup journey. In addition, the summit has Founder’s Stage- a dedicated 3-day startup track with influential speakers and Startup Conclave- Featuring notable voices like Nuseir Yassin, the celebrated digital storyteller and founder of Nas Daily.  

The Minister further noted that the government of Karnataka is recognising and rewarding outstanding technology-based Karnataka startups who are building innovative products and solutions in IT, Biotech, Medtech, with high potential of employment generation or wealth creation, demonstrating measurable social impact and for outstanding achievements through The Bengaluru Impact Awards. The nominated companies will be evaluated by a jury, which comprises a leading panel of experts from the Indian entrepreneurship ecosystem, investors, policy makers and respected business leaders. The panel will evaluate the applicants based on few criteria.

Kharge further pointed out that the BTS has a special programme called ‘Lab to Market’ at the dedicated exhibition pavilion which invites premier research institutes from across India to showcase their expertise. It offers a platform for one-on-one meetings with industry leaders, startups, and investors, with the goal of accelerating the Lab-to-Market journey of groundbreaking innovations. This initiative aims to recognize disruptive research ideas and transform them into market-ready technologies with significant potential.

Besides, Kharge said that there are Smart Bio Awards that are instituted with an aim to recognize emerging biotechnology firms making impact in their chosen fields like Biopharma, Services, Agribiotech, Medtech etc.