Mysuru: Despite Karnataka govt initiatives to support startups and the positioning of Bengaluru, Mysuru and Mangaluru as startup hubs, only 2,584 startups were registered with state govt agencies during the five years from 2021-22 to 2025-26.The data revealed that state startup registrations are far lower than central figures. Mysuru, an important Tier-II city under the Beyond Bengaluru initiative, recorded 111 such registrations during the period.However, authorities said the state registration figure does not represent the total number of startups operating in the state or in Mysuru, as many startups are registered with central govt agencies.According to data presented by IT, BT minister Priyank Kharge in response to a question by MLC Shivanna BS during the ongoing session, Mysuru district recorded 33 new startup registrations in 2025-26, compared with 31 in 2024-25.According to Sanjeev Gupta CEO, Karnataka Digital Economy Mission, these 111 Startups registered with KITS on the Karnataka state portal since 2021, that is a state registration made to access state benefits. It is not a count of startups operating in Mysuru.“On the Government of India’s DPIIT register, the Mysuru cluster (Mysuru, Mandya, Ramanagara, Chamarajanagar) has 684 recognised Startups since 2016), of which 569 are in Mysuru district. The wider 1,000 figure includes early-stage and incubate ventures not yet formally recognised anywhere. All three numbers are correct; they measure different things,” he explained.An entrepreneur from Mysuru, who did not wish to be named, said as on March 2026 central govt data shows more than 22,600 startups are functional in Karnataka, generating over 2.5 lakh direct jobs.“This is the right time to examine the reasons for the huge gap between startup registrations with the state and central govt agencies,” he said.
