Mysuru — Karnataka's cultural capital — has quietly become Karnataka's second-largest IT exporter, generating over ₹5,700 crore in software exports annually, hosting 650+ startups (up from just 200 a few years ago), and attracting ₹2,700 crore+ in electronics system design and manufacturing (ESDM) investment, according to KDEM figures presented at the 6th Mysuru Big Tech Show on 23 July 2026 (Confirmed — KDEM cluster presentation; The Hindu, Star of Mysore). The state's answer to spreading that growth state-wide is LEAP — the Local Economy Accelerator Programme, a ₹1,000 crore, 5-year initiative voted through in September 2025 that targets 5 lakh new jobs across six cluster-pairs stretching from Mysuru-Chamarajanagar to Shivamogga (Confirmed — Government of Karnataka ITBT department; Economic Times, Indian Express, New Indian Express). KDEM's stated ambition for Mysuru alone is a $10 billion digital economy by 2030 — 28 large IT firms, 12 ESDM units, 12 GCCs, and 2,800+ startups creating 1.65 lakh jobs (Confirmed — KDEM, NewsFirst Prime).
What is the "Beyond Bengaluru" initiative?
The Beyond Bengaluru programme is KDEM's (Karnataka Digital Economy Mission) vehicle for distributing Karnataka's tech growth outside the state capital. It formally identifies six cluster-pairs — organised as Class A (Mysuru-Chamarajanagar, Mangaluru-Udupi, Hubbali-Belagavi-Dharwad) and Class B (Tumkur, Kalaburagi, Shivamogga) — each of which gets tailored infrastructure, policy benefits, and acceleration mechanisms (Confirmed — Government of Karnataka eitbt.karnataka.gov.in). The headline goal is a $10 billion in IT services exports target out of Karnataka's $300 billion state-wide goal, with 30% of that targeted at clusters beyond the capital by 2030 (Confirmed — KDEM beyond-bengaluru page).
The Big Tech Show 2026 at Infosys Campus, Mysuru — the cluster's flagship event running since 2021 — featured 1,200+ delegates, 100+ demonstrating startups, 15+ VCs, 25+ ESDM leaders, and GCC heads travelling up from Bengaluru in a dedicated bus to tour the new 200,000 sq ft Global Technology Centre at KSOU Mandakalli, Mysuru, due to go live in August–September 2026 per KDEM cluster presentation (Confirmed — beyondbengaluru.com 2026 event page).
How much tech activity is actually in Mysuru today?
Mysuru's current technology footprint, as presented at the 6th Big Tech Show:
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Annual IT exports | ₹5,700+ crore | STPI Director (The Hindu, Nov 2024) / KDEM |
| ESDM investment pipeline | ₹2,700+ crore (₹4,500 cr highlighted at Big Tech Show 2025, incl. semiconductor JV) | KDEM / Express Computer |
| Active startups | 650+ (up from ~200 a few years ago) | KDEM cluster presentation |
| Personal angling to relocate | 44,600 professionals in a KDEM survey | Express Computer KDEM report |
| FY24-25 new projects | ₹2,800 crore (semiconductor JV + ₹1,250 cr PCB plant + nano-GCCs) | NewsFirst Prime August 2025 |
| KDEM 2030 target for Mysuru | $10 billion digital revenue, 1.65 lakh jobs | KDEM / NewsFirst Prime |
| Major anchor tenants | Infosys (337-acre global training campus), IBM Client Innovation Centre (8th CIC, 2021), Wipro Mysuru, TVS Electronics, L&T Infotech, Jubilant Biosys, MiPhi Semiconductors | TechCircle, IRPR Network, Star of Mysore |
What stands out: Mysuru isn't just adding headcount slowly — the FY24-25 pipeline more than doubles the cluster's baseline investment, with a ₹1,250 crore printed circuit board plant and the highlight semiconductor joint venture (Kaynes/Tata-ecosystem) indicating the cluster is pivoting from IT-services-only to IT+ESDM+lite-fab, exactly what IESA and KDEM announced at the Mysuru ESDM Tech Yatra (Confirmed — IESA/KDEM DQChannels).
What is the LEAP programme and how does it help beyond-Bengaluru clusters?
LEAP — Local Economy Accelerator Programme is a ₹1,000 crore, 5-year initiative launched on 22 September 2025 by Karnataka's IT/BT Minister Priyank Kharge (Confirmed — Indian Express 22 Sep 2025; Economic Times; New Indian Express). Its aims:
- Create 5 lakh (500,000) jobs across 6 Beyond Bengaluru clusters over 5 years.
- ₹100 crore deep-tech corpus for AI/cyber startups outside Bengaluru; ₹200 crore private-sector co-investment.
- 16 sub-programmes covering the entire startup lifecycle, from school-level entrepreneurial ethos (Karnataka Startup Foundry) through ELEVATE NXT deep-tech grants → incubators/accelerators → prototype labs/growth labs → hackathons/bootcamps → market access.
- ₹200 crore FY 25-26 initial allocation per GO ITBT 42 ADM 2025 dated 5 Aug 2025 (Confirmed — Govt. of Karnataka order).
- Innovation Labs: ₹25 crore over 5 years to seed 20 labs at ₹1.25 cr each across schools/colleges in Beyond Bengaluru districts.
LEAP is the overarching policy framework; the older Nipuna Karnataka skilling scheme (₹300 crore, 50% employers' EPF + skilling reimbursement) and the GCC Policy 2024 sit underneath LEAP as targeted accelerators. The Big Tech Show 2026 KDEM presentation confirmed Nipuna bridges the employability gap by funding 40% of skilling cost for new hires, who are then interned and absorbed by the employer (Confirmed — KDEM Big Tech Show 2026 transcript; Deccan Herald Sep 2024; nammakpsc.com).
What specific incentives does the Karnataka GCC Policy 2024 offer for Mysuru?
The Karnataka Global Capability Centre (GCC) Policy 2024 is a 14-point incentive stack designed to pull GCCs out of Bengaluru. Apply-based, Beyond Bengaluru-specific incentives per the official portal (Confirmed — eitbt.karnataka.gov.in/181/gcc-policy-2024):
| Incentive | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Rental assistance | Leasing/rent refund for GCCs setting up in Beyond Bengaluru districts |
| EPF reimbursement | Employer's EPF contribution for new hires |
| Property tax reimbursement | Property tax refund for Beyond Bengaluru GCC operations |
| Internship stipend reimbursement | Stipends for academia-industry internships |
| Power tariff concession (PTC) + electricity duty reimbursement | Reduced power costs for KITS-registered GCCs |
| Recruitment assistance | Hiring help for new/expanding Beyond Bengaluru GCCs |
| Skilling curriculum funding | Industry-oriented future-skills courses in state universities |
| Co-working spaces support | Operational expense reimbursement for co-working operators |
| CoE/Innovation Labs funding | Joint research + applied R&D academia collaboration |
| IP/patent filing reimbursement | Cost of filing + securing patents reimbursed |
The policy stacks on top of the Karnataka IT/ITeS Policy 2020 tiering scheme: Mysuru is classified Tier-2, with higher SGST reimbursement (~50% vs 25% for Bengaluru Tier-1) and higher capital subsidy ceilings — a stated 15-20% capex reduction vs comparable Bengaluru setups (Confirmed — eitbt.karnataka.gov.in IT/ITeS Policy 2020; IRPR Network).
Why are GCCs moving to Mysuru specifically?
Three structural explanations come out of the data and the Big Tech Show interviewees (BV Naidu, KDEM Chairman; KDEM cluster GM Sudheer K.S.):
- Cost arbitrage. Grade A commercial rent in Mysuru is ₹18–32/sqft/month vs Bengaluru's ₹80–160/sqft/month — a 60–70% cost advantage, per IRPR Network's 2026 Mysuru GCC guide. Karnataka IT Policy Tier-2 incentives stack another 15–20% capex break on top.
- Talent pipeline. Insights from the 200-acre Infosys training campus (the world's largest corporate training facility, 14,000 trainee capacity, opened 2002) plus IBM's 8th Client Innovation Centre (2021) plus local engineering colleges give GCCs a self-renewing talent environment. KDEM surveyed 44,600 professionals willing to relocate to Mysuru if the right jobs existed (Express Computer KDEM report).
- Connectivity. The 117 km, 10-lane Bengaluru-Mysuru Expressway (NH-275, inaugurated 12 March 2023 by PM Modi, built at ₹8,408 crore) drops travel time from 3 hours to ~75–90 minutes (Confirmed — Indian Express Jul 2026; Infralens; SignalPe). Shatabdi Express rail clocks in around 1 hour 50 minutes with 8+ daily services. KDEM leaders at Big Tech Show 2026 confirmed the imminent peripheral ring road linking Tumkur Road to Kempegowda International Airport will shorten Mysuru→BIA to ~2.5 hours (Reported — Big Tech Show 2026 transcript).
The Big Tech Show 2026 KDEM cluster presentation confirmed 2 GCCs have already committed to operations in the new Global Technology Centre and KDEM expects "at least 5 more GCCs this financial year" — i.e. by March 2027 — with potential for a French-AI GCC once the Indo-French delegation visits Bengaluru Tech Summit (Reported — Big Tech Show 2026 transcript).
How does the Global Technology Centre (GTC) fit in?
The Global Technology Centre is a 200,000 sq ft plug-and-play facility set on 10 acres inside the Karnataka State Open University (KSOU) campus in Mandakalli Village, Mysuru (Confirmed — mysuruinfrahub.com; KDEM). It's graded as A-grade IT real estate by the state's real-estate assessors — the first such Grade A stock in Mysuru — making it the single most important piece of infrastructure for landing GCCs at scale (previously the cluster was capped around ~500 seats per campus, requiring new buildout to scale beyond). Per the Big Tech Show, it is due to go live "next month" from the 23 July 2026 event — i.e. August–September 2026.
What infrastructure challenges does Mysuru still face?
The Big Tech Show interviews (BV Naidu, ex-Infy colleague) are explicit about the gaps:
- Grade A office stock is scarce. Existing premium stock tops out near 500 seats per campus; scaling beyond ~5,000 aggregate seats requires new campus development (Confirmed — IRPR Network).
- Airport connectivity is limited. Mysuru Airport (MYQ) has ~12 km city distance but limited direct international flights; executives depend on Bengaluru KIA (170 km, 2–2.5 hrs via Expressway+ring road). The peripheral ring road phase linking NH-275 to KIA is expected to compress this to under 2.5 hours (Reported — Big Tech Show 2026 transcript).
- Senior leadership recruitment. IRPR analysis recommends budgeting 25–35% of senior hires as Bengaluru commuters — local senior pipeline is thin. KDEM's Nipuna scheme compensates by skilling locals fast, but senior GCC leadership prefer Bengaluru's lifestyle.
- Public transit + international schools. BV Naidu name-checks AC EV bus expansion and international school availability as unglamorous but decisive for past-Bengaluru family relocation.
- Bullet train proposal. Naidu advocates a Bengaluru-Mysuru bullet train doing the trip in 30 minutes, transforming Mysuru into a true commuter suburb. At present this is opinion-shaped aspiration, not an approved project (Opinion — Big Tech Show 2026 interview).
How does Mysuru compare to other Beyond Bengaluru clusters?
For context, here are the latest annual IT export figures cited by Karnataka IT/BT Minister Priyank Kharge when announcing LEAP (Confirmed — New Indian Express, 22 Sep 2025):
| Cluster | Annual IT exports | LEAP focus sector | Notable move |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mysuru (Cluster A) | ₹5,700 crore | IT/ITeS, ESDM, GCCs | GTC opening Aug-Sep 2026; ₹2,800 cr FY25 pipeline |
| Mangaluru-Udupi (Cluster A) | ₹2,800 crore | Marine biotech, FinTech | 3.5-acre tech park, 3.5 lakh sq ft, 3,500 seats (GKToday LEAP report) |
| Hubbali-Belagavi-Dharwad (Cluster A) | ₹2,500 crore | AI/ML, Engineering tech | NAIN colleges + incubators corridor |
| Tumkur (Cluster B) | N/A (early) | Vasantanarsapura ESDM Cluster (218.20 acres) | Kotur Belur Dharwad Industrial Area 224.5 acres |
| Kalaburagi (Cluster B) | N/A (early) | Agri-tech, superfoods | LEAP cluster-specific pilots |
| Shivamogga (Cluster B) | N/A (early) | IT services exploration | KDEM FKCCI MoU 2025 outreach |
Mysuru's lead across the cluster pack is unambiguous — it's the only Beyond Bengaluru cluster with both a deep infrastructural anchor (the GTC, the 235.5-acre Kochanahalli ESDM Cluster, KEONICS IT Park Hebbal) and a unicorn-grade anchor tenant pipeline (Infosys, IBM, Wipro, plus the new entrants Hoptekai Technologies, Sharp Software Development India, MiPhi Semiconductors with its 200-member GTC).
What this means for you
If you run a global capability centre, IT services unit, or ESDM operation weighing Mysuru as a Bengaluru-satellite second site:
- Right now: KDEM's Global Technology Centre (KSOU, Mysuru) opens Aug–Sep 2026 with Grade A plug-and-play capacity — first batch already has 2 GCCs committed, with capacity for ~10–15 nano-GCCs in the immediate term.
- Cost structure: budget 30–40% savings on commercial rent + packaged Karnataka IT-Policy Tier-2 + GCC Policy 2024 incentives (EPF reimbursement, rental assistance, power tariff concession, property-tax refund, skilling reimbursement).
- Talent plan: tap Infosys-trained leavers + IBM-CIC alumni as senior anchors; hire/train juniors with the Nipuna programme (40% skilling cost reimbursed); budget 25-35% senior hires as Bengaluru commuters until ring-road completion.
- For investors: the KDEM 2030 vision — 1.65 lakh jobs, $10 bn digital economy — embeds a clear exit math: investing into a 50–250 seat nano-GCC at sub-30% Bengaluru rent + a 75-minute Expressway commute is a structural bet, not a bet on meta-policy mood.
For related India manufacturing-stack coverage on The Tech Archive, see our deep-dives on Karnataka's KWIN City Semiconductor Park, Tamil Nadu's ₹1,012 crore semiconductor cluster play, India's PLI Scheme 2026 results, and the Karnataka FDI 2026 $12.9B surge analysis.
FAQ
Q: How large is Mysuru's IT economy in 2026? A: Mysuru exports software worth ₹5,700+ crore annually (per STPI Director figures, The Hindu Nov 2024) — making it Karnataka's second-largest IT exporter after Bengaluru. KDEM estimates Mysuru's total digital economy at about $1.3 billion (₹10,800+ crore including services multiplier, ESDM and startup equity) and targets $10 billion by 2030.
Q: What is Karnataka's LEAP programme? A: LEAP — Local Economy Accelerator Programme — is a ₹1,000 crore, 5-year initiative announced 22 Sept 2025 by Karnataka's Department of Electronics, IT and BT. It targets 5 lakh (500,000) new jobs across 6 Beyond Bengaluru cluster-pairs through 16 sub-programmes spanning the entire startup lifecycle: school-level entrepreneurship, ELEVATE NXT deep-tech grants, Centres of Excellence, incubators, accelerators, prototype labs, growth labs, hackathons and bootcamps. ₹200 crore has been allocated for FY 2025–26 (GO ITBT 42 ADM 2025).
Q: What is Nipuna Karnataka? A: Nipuna Karnataka is a ₹300 crore skilling scheme (₹100 cr from state + ₹200 cr from CSR by TCS, Infosys, Wipro et al.) approved September 2024 that reskills Karnataka youth in cybersecurity, cloud computing and AI. For Beyond Bengaluru GCCs, the state reimburses 40% of skilling cost for new hires — GCCs first hire, upgrade through Nipuna, then absorb (Confirmed — KDEM Big Tech Show 2026 transcript; Deccan Herald, nammakpsc).
Q: What is the Global Technology Centre in Mysuru? A: A 200,000 sq ft plug-and-play facility on 10 acres inside the Karnataka State Open University (KSOU) campus in Mandakalli Village, Mysuru. Graded as A-grade IT real estate by the state — the first in Mysuru. Two GCCs are committed to opening inside; KDEM targets 5+ GCCs across Mysuru during FY 2026–27.
Q: How long does it take to drive from Bengaluru to Mysuru? A: Around 75–90 minutes via the 117 km, 10-lane Bengaluru-Mysuru Expressway (NH-275), which PM Modi opened on 12 March 2023. Built at ₹8,408 crore; reduces the previous ~3-hour drive by more than half. The planned peripheral ring road linking NH-275 to Kempegowda International Airport will bring Mysuru→BIA to ~2.5 hours.
Q: When will Mysuru become a "mature" tech hub? A: BV Naidu (KDEM Chairman) at the Big Tech Show 2026 framed the threshold as 500,000 tech professionals against an estimated current base of ~30,000 — a 7-to-10-year horizon under sustained investment and infrastructural buildout, conditioned on Bullet-train-equivalent commute-time compression.
Q: Which countries are being courted for Mysuru investment? A: KDEM is actively targeting Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, Malaysia (ESDM/manufacturing) and United States (GCCs + semiconductors), with a France channel opening via the Indo-French AI collaboration announced by the French Consul General at the Big Tech Show. Roadshow delegations to Japan and Korea are planned; an Indo-French AI GCC in Mysuru is sought as a visible early win.
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