Kerala Aims To Emerge As India’s Start-Up Hub
The three-day event, organised by the Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM) from December 12 to 15, created a vibrant buzz, bringing together founders, investors, policymakers and diplomats from across the world.
Hyderabad: As the waters off the Kovalam beach lay calm, a similar serenity masked the energy inside the halls where conversations centred around innovation and technology. Topics swirled around humanoid robots and autonomous drones, reflecting the depth of talent and innovation shaping Kerala’s startup ecosystem.
The three-day event, organised by the Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM) from December 12 to 15, created a vibrant buzz, bringing together founders, investors, policymakers and diplomats from across the world. Conversations amid displays of humanoid robots and autonomous drones reflected the depth of talent and innovation shaping Kerala’s startup ecosystem.
Calling Huddle Global as a defining moment for India’s start-up ecosystem, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said, “This convergence brings together innovators, investors and technology leaders from across the world. It gives confidence to those aspiring to build startups and demonstrates that Kerala will remain in the global spotlight.”
Vijayan launched KSUM’s ‘LeapX AVGC-XR Accelerator Programme’, a specialised three-month initiative to support high-potential startups in Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, Comics and Extended Reality (AVGC-XR). The programme focuses on original intellectual property creation, technology-driven products and global market readiness.
UAE-based Feeder Fund led by the Global Alliance committed Rs 1,000 crore to Kerala start-ups over the next three years, giving a major boost to the state’s innovation landscape.
Finance minister K.N. Balagopal highlighted emerging domains such as AI, automation and shipping supply chains, noting that Kerala has taken decisive steps to accelerate growth in its next development phase. “The Vizhinjam-Kollam-Punalur triangle is emerging as one of the most strategic development zones, combining port growth, industrial capacity and inland connectivity,” he said.
With Vizhinjam Port as the gateway, southern Kerala and Tamil Nadu as manufacturing hubs, and the Punalur-Tenkasi belt as an engineering and agro-industrial centre, the region offers strong potential in logistics, electronics, food processing and clean-tech industries.
He added that this convergence would strengthen digital and science parks designed to attract global technology companies, advanced research laboratories and leading universities focused on AI, robotics, semiconductors, food technologies, optics and digital engineering. “With an attrition rate of just 8–10 percent, affordable talent, high quality of life and lower space costs, Kerala is nearly 40–65 percent more cost-effective for long-term capability building,” said Seeram Sambasiva Rao, special secretary (electronics and IT).
A highlight of the event was a talk by Group Captain Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair, Indian astronaut-designate and test pilot, who spoke about India’s global role in space exploration, drawing enthusiastic applause from the audience. “India must develop its own capabilities in space rather than working for others,” he said.
Drawing parallels between astronauts and start-up founders, Gp Cpt Nair emphasised the importance of multidisciplinary skills. “An astronaut trains in mechanical repair, medical assistance and even food preparation. Similarly, start-up founders should develop cross-functional skills to understand their teams better,” he noted.
Vikram Gupta, founder and managing partner at IvyCap Ventures, said Kerala has the potential to emerge as a major startup hub given its strong fundamentals and growing focus on deeptech and emerging technologies. “The state recorded a 147 per cent surge in ecosystem value. What it now urgently needs is more acceleration funding, where Alternative Investment Fund (AIF) models and even endowment-based approaches could play a role,” he said.
During a panel on ‘Ships, Shores and Supply Chains’, Sreekumar K. Nair, CEO of Vizhinjam International Seaport, described the port as a “goldmine” for investors and enterprises over the next five years. The port has attracted cargo ships from 160 countries within just 13 months of operations.
Ssome featured innovations include 'Clikkin’, a social networking platform; 'FutureMug’, an agentic AI system from a start-up that assists candidates with interviews and phone calls and ‘WebEaz’, a web application that simplifies business operations for small entrepreneurs.
