Mangaluru: TiE Mangaluru has been selected to host and drive the first K-Combinator initiative in Karnataka, a government-backed startup acceleration programme being rolled out under the state govt’s Beyond Bengaluru Mission and LEAP initiative, with a focus on startups from the Udupi-Mangaluru region and wider coastal Karnataka.Speaking to reporters in Mangaluru on Friday, TiE Mangaluru president Shyamprasad Hebbar said that the programme, which is powered by TiE Global’s TiE Nurture methodology, will identify startups that have successfully tested their proof of concept (PoC) or minimum viable product (MVP) and are entering the initial stages of scaling.Under K-Combinator, four to six startups per cohort will be selected, with three cohorts annually. Selected founders will undergo a 16-week programme featuring bootcamps, masterclasses, mentoring, industry connections and investor-readiness support.Hebbar said the broader objective was to build the startup ecosystem in the region, starting from the college level.He said the region’s startup count has grown from around 200 to 400, supported by 15-plus incubators, 35-plus engineering colleges, eight-plus medical colleges and over 150 degree colleges. TiE Mangaluru aims to take the number of startups to over 4,000 by 2034.He said TiE Mangaluru has over 150 company and individual contributors, and has formed Silicon Beach Angels to facilitate startup funding in the region.He said startups in the region had recorded three exits worth over 250 million dollars in the past two-plus years, and aims to achieve 5 billion dollars in exits, and build at least five unicorns worth 1 billion dollars by 2034.The K-Combinator programme is intended to address a gap faced by startups after they graduate from college-based incubators, said TiE Mangaluru convener and founding president of TiE Mangaluru, Rohit Bhat. He said that the organisation had proposed K-Combinator to the state govt last year to provide this support.The initiative has an approved grant outlay of Rs 9.3 crore over five years, with the first tranche of Rs 1.9 crore already released for implementation, he said.The govt grant will fund incubation, acceleration, infrastructure and market access, with selected entrepreneurs getting free workspace for up to eight months, he said.Two startups from each cohort will be eligible for a performance-linked Rs 10 lakh grant at zero equity, subject to programme completion and approvals.He also added that the K-Combinator startups will be connected with companies and entrepreneurs in India and abroad through TiE’s global network.Suyog Shetty, vice-president of TiE Mangaluru, said it had already been running TiE Nurture programmes for startups in the region.Over the past year, two cohorts involving around 15 companies completed the programme, with three startups receiving initial seed funding of over Rs 50 lakh each.
