The Karnataka government on January 17 rolled out ELEVATE NxT, a flagship deep-tech startup support programme under the Local Economy Accelerator Programme (LEAP), reinforcing the state’s push to strengthen its innovation-led growth model.
ELEVATE NxT is designed to support startups working in advanced and emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, IoT, blockchain, robotics, biotechnology, quantum computing, cybersecurity, green energy and space technology.
The programme follows a milestone-based grant-in-aid framework, combining funding with sector-specific mentorship to help startups scale globally while solving real-world problems.
The state has earmarked ₹150 crore for the initiative, with each selected startup eligible for grant support of up to ₹1 crore, disbursed against defined milestones.
The programme is open to deep-tech startups across India and will follow a multi-stage evaluation process.
Alongside ELEVATE NxT, the government launched the Beyond Bengaluru Cluster Seed Fund with a total corpus of ₹75 crore, including a ₹20 crore state commitment.
The fund will focus initially on Mysuru, Mangaluru and Hubballi-Dharwad, deploying equity and equity-linked investments starting at ₹50 lakh per startup.
At the event, 146 startups were felicitated under ELEVATE 2025, with total committed grants of ₹38.85 crore. This included 103 ELEVATE winners, 33 startups under ELEVATE Unnati and 10 under ELEVATE Minorities.
Notably, 43% of the selected startups were women-led and an equal proportion were based outside Bengaluru.
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With ELEVATE NxT, new regional seed funding, and the Karnataka Startup Policy 2025-2030 backed by an outlay of ₹570.675 crore, the state is reinforcing its position as India’s leading deep-tech and inclusive startup hub while expanding innovation beyond the capital city.
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Published on: Jan 19, 2026, 2:31 PM IST
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