Karnataka Eyes Deeper Tech Partnership With Poland at Business Forum

Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge met Poland's PM to bolster cooperation in tech and investment. He showcased Bengaluru’s robust innovation ecosystem, aiming to build strategic corridors for research, talent exchange, and market access.

Strengthening Karnataka–Poland Cooperation

Karnataka Minister for Home, Information Technology & Biotechnology and E-Governance Priyank Kharge, along with Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, met Donald Tusk, Prime Minister of Poland, and his high-level delegation in Bengaluru for discussions on strengthening Karnataka–Poland cooperation across investment, technology and industry. Following the bilateral interaction, Minister Kharge addressed the India-Poland Business Forum, where he presented Karnataka and Bengaluru’s technology, innovation and investment ecosystem and outlined a roadmap for deeper collaboration between Karnataka and Poland.

Bengaluru's Global Technology Leadership

Highlighting Bengaluru’s growing global technology leadership, the Minister said the city today stands 5th among the world’s top 50 AI cities, has the highest AI skill penetration, ahead of the United States and Germany, ranks second globally in AI specialists and third in AI research publications. He also highlighted Bengaluru’s position as the fourth-largest technology cluster in the world, the 8th-ranked global startup ecosystem and the 5th-largest unicorn hub globally. Karnataka’s startup ecosystem, he said, is valued at around $320 billion, while Bengaluru alone accounts for over 40% of India’s R&D workforce. More than 25% of startups in the state leverage DeepTech. Kharge said Karnataka continues to be one of the strongest engines of the Indian economy and is projected to reach an economy of around $350 billion in the current financial year. "The state is also India’s largest exporter of IT services and attracted over $13 billion in foreign direct investment in the previous financial year," he said.

Talent Pool and Global Capability Centres

The Minister emphasized that Karnataka’s biggest competitive advantage remains its talent. The state has more than 1.2 million technology professionals, including over 250,000 professionals working in artificial intelligence, which he said accounts for approximately 50% of India’s AI talent. "Karnataka also adds around 100,000 new technology graduates to its workforce every year. This deep talent pool has helped attract the world’s leading companies to the state, with Karnataka and Bengaluru now hosting more than 1,100 Global Capability Centres," he added.

Advancing the Global Innovation Alliance

Kharge said Karnataka’s ambition for the next phase of growth is clear: to move from being a global destination for technology delivery to becoming a global centre for technology ownership, innovation and value creation. He said the state’s Global Innovation Alliance (GIA) has been built as a dedicated platform to enable international partnerships across innovation, science and technology. "GIA began with 10 countries and today engages with more than 90 countries, including over 40 formal partner countries." The Minister said GIA 2.0, launched this year, takes this engagement further by moving towards a more structured and outcome-driven model. The framework provides businesses with market-access opportunities through Karnataka’s facilities in Bengaluru and through bilateral market-access corridors. It also connects Karnataka’s Centres of Excellence, incubators and universities with international counterparts and provides partners with a dedicated international desk serving as a single window. For Polish companies, Kharge said this would mean access through Karnataka to a market of more than 1.3 billion people, backed by an institutional team that continues to support partners beyond the initial engagement.

Proposed Priority Areas for Collaboration

Kharge said Karnataka and Poland have already begun building this partnership. "In February, a Letter of Intent was signed with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Katowice to establish the Karnataka–Katowice Digital and Gaming Corridor, creating a platform for deeper cooperation in technology and digital industries." The Minister proposed taking the Karnataka–Poland partnership forward across few priority areas. Karnataka and Poland can establish skill corridors in frontier technologies, connecting talent, companies and emerging technology opportunities between the two regions. The two sides can deepen collaboration between universities and research institutions, creating stronger pathways for joint research, technology development and innovation. Karnataka and Poland can work towards co-creating intellectual property and building structured market-access programmes, enabling Karnataka businesses to access the European Union through Poland and providing Polish businesses access to India through Karnataka.

Kharge said Karnataka’s ambition is to become one of Poland’s most consequential innovation partners and build a platform where global ideas meet Indian scale and global technology meets Indian talent. He stressed that international partnerships must translate into tangible outcomes and said Karnataka is aligning policy, talent, capital, technology and diplomacy through its Global Innovation Alliance. “You do not get a partner in Karnataka. You get an ecosystem,” Kharge said. He added that under the leadership of Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, Karnataka offers investors and international partners a government that listens, responds and shows up for them. Kharge said Karnataka has the appetite to collaborate across sectors and wants to create more technology corridors for cross-border research and innovation, bringing together academia, incubators, accelerators, startups and wider innovation ecosystems.

Concluding his address, the Minister said, “Poland is one of Europe’s great growth stories and Karnataka is one of Asia’s great success stories. Let us write the next chapter of sustainable growth and shared prosperity for a greener and more equitable future together.” He said the Government of Karnataka looks forward to building a deeper and more sustained partnership with Poland around technology, talent, research, innovation and market access.

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