Karnataka will release the rules for its Rs 200 crore startup fund, the state’s information technology secretary said on September 8, 2026. The state will also launch an artificial intelligence skilling programme called Nipuna Edge.
The Rs 200 crore fund was proposed in the state budget for a separate AI and internet-of-things policy. It sits outside ELEVATE, Karnataka’s main startup grant scheme. The rules will set out how founders can apply.
Karnataka runs one of India’s largest state startup programmes. Its policy corpus stands at Rs 518 crore. The ELEVATE scheme gives grants of up to Rs 50 lakh, and up to Rs 1 crore for deep-tech startups under its newer track.
The new Nipuna Edge programme extends the state’s Nipuna skilling push into AI. Under the existing Nipuna Karnataka scheme, industry designs the course and the government pays up to 40% of the training cost. That scheme carries an outlay of Rs 300 crore.
The IT secretary said the state wants startups to test their products inside government projects. This gives young companies a first customer and a live use case. Public procurement is often hard for startups to enter.
The state also plans to back responsible AI use and to spread data centres beyond Bengaluru. Bengaluru holds over 1 lakh AI professionals. Karnataka’s wider tech workforce has crossed 1 million people.
Karnataka has courted AI investment through the year. In August 2026 the state discussed an AI University and citizen-service projects with Anthropic. It has set a target of 25,000 new startups and AI training for up to 2 lakh people.
What this means for you: If you run an early-stage or deep-tech startup in Karnataka, watch for the fund rules and the Nipuna Edge launch, as both set the terms for state grants and AI talent.
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