Bengaluru ranked Asia’s second-largest AI innovation hub, enters global top 10 for R&D

Bengaluru has secured the second spot in Asia for AI innovation and entered the global top 10 for performance and research and development, according to the Global Startup Ecosystem Report (GSER) 2026.

The Karnataka government said Bengaluru, ranked 15th globally in the Startup Ecosystem Index, continues to strengthen its position as India’s leading startup hub with an ecosystem value of USD 152.8 billion.

The findings were announced by the Karnataka government and Karnataka Digital Economy Mission (KDEM) in partnership with Startup Genome following the unveiling of the report at VivaTech Paris.

“The finding underscores Bengaluru-Karnataka’s growing influence in the global AI landscape. Ranked Asia’s #2 AI-native startup ecosystem the region continues to build on its strengths in talent, research, entrepreneurship, and venture capital,” an official release from Karnataka IT and BT department said.

The ecosystem also recorded stronger-than-average growth in early-stage AI funding, reinforcing Karnataka’s role in shaping India’s AI future, it added.

According to the department, the rankings highlight India’s growing innovation footprint, with six Indian ecosystems featured globally.

Recognised as the definitive benchmark for startup ecosystems, GSER draws on data from more than 5.5 million companies across more than 350 innovation ecosystems worldwide.

The GSER 2026 ecosystem rankings are based on a weighted composite index across six key success factors: Performance (27.5 percent), Funding (20 percent), Market Reach (20 percent), Talent and Experience (17.5 percent), AI-Native Cluster (10 percent), and R&D Engine (5 percent).

Each factor is scored on a 1–10 scale across more than 350 global ecosystems, making the ranking a multidimensional assessment of ecosystem strength rather than a single-parameter measure, the department said.

“Bengaluru-Karnataka is no longer just India’s startup capital; it is increasingly a global DeepTech and AI innovation hub. This recognition by Startup Genome validates our long-term investments in talent, research, entrepreneurship, and emerging technologies. As we build Karnataka’s DeepTech Decade, our focus remains clear: create the next generation of globally impactful companies from Karnataka for the world,” Karnataka IT & BT Minister Priyank Kharge said.

The department said Bengaluru-Karnataka demonstrated consistent outperformance across multiple high-weight indicators within the GSER 2026 framework, particularly in ecosystem output, innovation capacity and value creation velocity.

It noted that Bengaluru demonstrates a high cost-to-output ratio, where globally competitive innovation outcomes are achieved at comparatively lower talent input costs.

The release said this places Bengaluru in the global top 10 for exits and number four in Asia, reinforcing its position as a capital-efficient global innovation hub rather than a low-cost labour market.

On capital formation, Bengaluru attracted USD 39 billion in venture funding between 2021 and 2025, ranking among the global top 15 and fourth in Asia.

In innovation output, the city’s R&D Engine ranking improved from the global top 30 in GSER 2025 to the global top 10 in 2026, reflecting increased patent output and research commercialisation.

In AI-native formation, Karnataka accounts for a significant share of India’s AI startup funding, with approximately 58 percent of national AI venture funding flowing into the state. The state ranks second in Asia in the AI-Native Cluster category.

Among the key highlights of GSER 2026, Bengaluru retained its position among the world’s top 40 startup ecosystems for the second consecutive year.

The city is ranked 15th globally in the Startup Ecosystem Index. It is among the top 10 global ecosystems and fourth in Asia for performance, among the top 10 globally and fifth in Asia for R&D Engine, among the top 15 globally and fourth in Asia for Funding Momentum, and among the top 15 globally and second in Asia for AI-Native Cluster.

Bengaluru is also among the top 30 global and top 10 Asian ecosystems for talent strength, among the top 20 Asian ecosystems for affordable talent, and among the top 30 Asian ecosystems for funding runway.