BENGALURU: Karnataka is the top destination for startups, and Bengaluru is home to 400 Fortune-500 companies, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said at the inauguration of a global conference on startups here on Thursday. Speaking at the two-day Global Innovation Connect, organised by Switzerland-based advisory firm Smadja & Smadja, Karnataka Digital Economy Mission (KDEM), Catamaran Ventures and Tata Digital, Bommai said the competition for Karnataka is Silicon Valley in the US,and that the state was the first to introduce a startup policy. Investors, private equity firms and entrepreneurs from Singapore, Israel, Switzerland, US, Japan, Korea and Germany are attending the conference.
Claude Smadja, President, Smadja & Smadja, said, “As the fourth industrial revolution has begun, it is pertinent to acknowledge that India will play the role of a catalyst, especially with its ability to innovate solutions for itself and the world.”
He added that India now has the world’s third-largest startup ecosystem. The India Global Innovation Connect highlights the potential of India’s startup ecosystem.Over 100 speakers from India and other countries are participating in the Global Innovation Connect. Apart from sessions on technological partnerships and ideas on greentech, there will be discussions on fintech, deeptech, edtech and Web 3.0.