Bengaluru leads India on AI, unicorns and patents: Report

Bengaluru’s score in the global patents metric is on par with Silicon Valley and Tokyo, highlighting its position in IP generation and applied innovation, according to the Bengaluru Innovation Report-2025 released at the tech summit.

The report said the city leads India in women-led start-ups, with 1,600 active ventures since 2010 that have together raised USD 10 billion. It added that Bengaluru is recognised as India’s AI and Quantum Computing hub, attracting companies such as OpenAI, Anthropic and Graphcore.

According to the report, Bengaluru accounted for 58 per cent of India’s AI start-up funding in the past five years and is home to USD 872 million in AI investments, leading the country in both funding and deal count.

It stated that Bengaluru is the fifth-largest unicorn hub globally, after Silicon Valley, New York, Beijing and London, with 53 unicorns valued at USD 192 billion. The report said this is more than any other Indian city, with Bengaluru’s unicorns contributing 42 per cent of India’s total unicorn valuation.

The city also leads in nurturing soonicorns. Bengaluru has 39 soonicorns, compared with 30 in Delhi-NCR and 21 in Mumbai. These start-ups have raised USD 16.3 billion, the report said.

Releasing the report at the Bengaluru Tech Summit 2025, IT Minister Priyank Kharge said, “This captures Karnataka’s journey—a story of innovation driven by vision, empowered by inclusivity, and strengthened by technology. Together, we will continue to ensure that the state not only leads India’s digital future but also sets the benchmark for innovation-led governance globally.”

The report said Bengaluru hosts 40 per cent of India’s global capability centres (GCCs), the highest in the country, and aims to double this share by 2029.

Between 2020 and 2023, Bengaluru recorded the highest number of patents in India in computer science (503), electronics (473), and communication (441). Its score of 910 in the global patents metric was comparable to Silicon Valley and Tokyo.

The report noted that more than 450 “Beyond Bengaluru” start-ups have engaged in state cluster initiatives through the Cluster Seed Fund and Karnataka Accelerator Network, enabling access to capital and mentorship outside the city.

It said emerging clusters such as Mangaluru, Mysuru and Hubballi-Dharwad are now developing as “Cluster-as-a-Product” destinations. The report cited the acquisition of Novigo Solutions in Mangaluru for Rs 950 crore as an example of investor interest in non-metro start-ups.

According to the report, start-ups in Bengaluru achieved the fastest average time to exit—6.8 years—among 13 global hubs, ahead of Silicon Valley (7.9 years) and Beijing (8.3 years). It said this reflects the maturity and investor confidence in the city’s ecosystem.

Since 2010, Bengaluru-based start-ups have raised USD 79 billion, accounting for 46 per cent of all venture capital deployed in India since 2016. The report also noted a 26 per cent rise in seed funding during 2024–25, with Bengaluru-based start-ups securing 82 per cent of India’s AI application layer funding.