US roadshow reaps Rs 7,100 cr investment in Karnataka IT sector

Bengaluru: The Karnataka government has garnered a total investment of Rs 7,100 crore from electronic systems design and manufacturing (ESDM) companies and global capacity centres (GCCs) during the recent US roadshow held in three cities by the delegation led by Sharat Bachegowda, MLA of Hoskote and Chairman of KEONICS.

Sharing details of the US roadshow at a press conference on Wednesday, Bachegowda said the fresh investments once materialised will generate 7,200 jobs. Of the total investment interest garnered from the US companies, Rs 5,500 crore was from the ESDM sector, and Rs 1,600 crore from GCCs.

The delegation visited three major cities - Boston, New York, and San Francisco. It held meetings with more than 120 companies - from MNCs to startups - across leading industry sectors. The delegation held several 1:1 meetings with senior executives, academia, and participated in marquee industry events, closed door CXO roundtables in the three cities.

Some of the companies that have shown interest to invest in Karnataka include Thermo Fisher, MKS Instruments, Marvell Systems, Autodesk, Dolby, Kyndryl, and Uber among others. Dolby has expressed interest to set up an experience centre in Bengaluru, while Autodesk has shown interest in expanding its presence in the city.

The delegation from the Department of Electronics, IT & Biotechnology included Dr Ekroop Caur, Secretary of the Department, Rahul Sharanappa Sankanur, MD, Karnataka Innovation and Technology Society, and other officials. The delegation participated in two conferences, visited two academic institutions and held 120 meetings over a period of 10 days.

Priyank Kharge, Minister for IT/BT said the government could have garnered double the investment if the ministry of external affairs had not denied visa to him earlier.

The state delegation participated at BIO International Convention (Bio US) held at Boston from June 16-19, and Design Automation Conference (DAC) held from June 22-25 in San Francisco. The delegation also visited the campus of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and held discussions with its President Ms Sally Ann Kornbluth on various issues ranging from innovation, talent development and interdisciplinary collaboration.

The Government of Karnataka delegation met with representatives from StartX, a prominent Stanford University-affiliated incubator backed by global venture capital. The Government of Karnataka has engaged with StartX and is strategising ways to highlight the city’s deep-tech strengths, academic and startup ecosystem, and offer tailored incentives.