Sunday, March 1, 2026
Karnataka Strengthens Its Orange Economy With Strategic Investor Connect At Bengaluru GAFX 2026
The Government of Karnataka, through the Department of Electronics, IT & BT, hosted a dedicated Investor Pitch Platform at Bengaluru GAFX 2026, creating a structured bridge between capital providers and high-potential startups across the AVGC-XR and emerging technology ecosystem.
Speaking on the initiative, Shri Priyank Kharge, Hon’ble Minister of Electronics, IT & BT and RDPR, Government of Karnataka, said: “Karnataka’s strength lies not only in talent creation but in enabling that talent to scale through capital, mentorship and global market access. Platforms like the Investor Pitch at GAFX ensure that our AVGC, AI and emerging technology startups are not just building products — they are building globally competitive enterprises. By curating high-quality deal flow and aligning it with serious investors, we are strengthening the foundation of Karnataka’s innovation economy.”
Designed to accelerate capital access and strategic partnerships, the platform enabled venture capital firms, angel investors and strategic funds to identify sector-aligned opportunities while supporting Karnataka-based startups in scaling, expansion and commercialization.
The engagement followed a focused two-stage curation model:
1. Identification of investors with demonstrated interest or active portfolio presence within the AVGC value chain and adjacent emerging technology sectors.
2. Curation of Karnataka-based startups with strong product-market fit, differentiated offerings and clearly articulated fund-raising objectives aligned to scalable business models.
This edition attracted participation from established venture capital firms and strategic investors including KRAFTON, Venturi Partners, HSBC Innovation Banking, Chimera Venture Capital, Expert Dojo and Panya Capital, among others.
Investors expressed strong interest in AVGC-focused ventures as well as AI-centric products and platforms across sectors, reflecting the growing convergence between creative technologies and deep-tech innovation.
A curated pipeline of Karnataka-based startups was consolidated under the following themes:
Clean Energy & Hardware
• chipAI IP solutions
• Modular satellite deployment systems
• SOLID-cooled Li-ion battery packs
• Portable active cooling solutions for medical and perishable goods
XR/3D Commerce & Industrial Visualization
• No-code AI-powered unified XR commerce studios enabling text/image/video-to-3D asset
creation and shoppable virtual try-ons
• VR-based design review tools for aerospace and defense
• Universal AI-driven virtual try-on solutions for fashion
Gaming & Interactive Entertainment
• AI-native creation engine SimOS with high-fidelity “Model Trains” and dynamic Lorekraft narratives
• Mobile games inspired by Indian mythology
• Roadsters Odyssey vehicular-combat game built on Unreal Engine 5.7
• Gesture-controlled drone gaming
• Micro-gaming and hyperlocal commerce platforms for metro and transit ecosystems
Media, VFX & Distribution
• End-to-end post-production studios led by internationally trained experts
• Real-time and AI-automated VFX pipelines and virtual production facilities in Bengaluru
• Hybrid studio-plus-training models equipped with LED Volume infrastructure
• OTT platforms enabling same-day global releases
• Impact-oriented content creation platforms
• Integrated music ecosystems for creators with embedded social and business engagement layers
AI SaaS & Enterprise Platforms
• AI-driven event ticketing platforms with identity verification and fraud detection
• AI-based men’s skincare tailored to Indian skin and climate conditions
• Pedagogy-first AI tutor engines focused on employability
• Ventures operating in water management, environmental solutions and trade-market access
The structured pitch sessions enabled targeted discovery and meaningful one-on-one interactions, ensuring that investor mandates were matched with high-quality, investmentready ventures.
The Investor Pitch Platform at Bengaluru GAFX 2026 further reinforces the State’s broader blueprint to transition from a service-led ecosystem to one driven by intellectual property, innovation and global competitivenessBy institutionalising structured capital discovery mechanisms within flagship industry forums, Karnataka continues to position itself as a leading destination for AVGC-XR, gaming, AI and next-generation technology investments.
Tata Motors Registered 32% Growth YoY With Total Sales Of 42,940 Commercial Vehicle Units In February 2026
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Tata Motors Limited sales in the domestic & international markets for February 2026 stood at 42,940 units, compared to 32,533 units during February 2025, up 32% YoY.
Domestic sales of MH&ICV in February 2026, was 21,423 units vs 15,940 units in February 2025 (34.4% YoY)
Domestic & International sales for MH&ICV in February 2026, was 22,512 units vs 16,693 units in February 2025 (34.9% YoY)
About Tata Motors Ltd (Formerly TML Commercial Vehicles Ltd):
Part of the USD 180 billion Tata Group, Tata Motors Ltd., is India’s largest and a globally renowned manufacturer of utility vehicles, pick-ups, trucks, and buses. With over eight decades of leadership in commercial mobility, the company is known for its innovation, reliability, and performance. Its advanced powertrains, connected technologies, and intelligent fleet solutions support a wide range of applications—from last-mile delivery to public transport while seamlessly driving the wheels of the nation’s economy. Guided by its brand promise Better Always, Tata Motors delivers future-ready solutions that enhance customer experience and drive sustainable growth. The company operates in India and South Korea, with a global presence across Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, Southeast Asia, and SAARC countries.
As per the Composite Scheme of Arrangement sanctioned by the Hon’ble National Company Law Tribunal, Mumbai Bench—among Tata Motors Limited, TML Commercial Vehicles Limited (the Company) and Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Limited—the Company’s name was changed to Tata Motors Limited (effective 29 October 2025), and its equity shares have been listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange of India Limited, effective 12th November 2025.
Going To School, Government Of Karnataka Among Others Partner To Kick Off Match Day 2026 In Bengaluru
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Going to School, through an MOU with the Government of Karnataka, brings dynamic future-ready skills to school for girls in Grade 5-10 Government Schools.
The Outdoor School for Girls (and boys), supported by exciting partnerships with Oracle, BT Group, The British Asian Trust and Bengaluru FC, is designed to equip her with the skills she needs to transition from grade to grade and one day soon, to make the jump from school to the future of work or sustainable enterprise start-up of her choice, in the city.
Through design-driven stories, games, football and technology, young people learn the skills they need to be able to access new green jobs and create new sustainable start-ups that solve for climate change and create green jobs.
Match Day brought together 2,000 girls and boys, their teachers, 100 volunteers from partner organizations and all of our partners in dialogue with young people, from fun Q & A’s on the pink and green football stage, to nine tents for coding challenges led by Oracle and BT Group volunteers, the Bengaluru FC women’s team showed us all the power of the great game, to bring us all together to play, learn and design for city-wide inclusion and change.
Going to School, a creative not-for-profit trust, in partnership with the Government of Karnataka, Oracle, and British Telecom (BT) Group, the British Asian Trust and Bengaluru FC kicked off Match Day, an ecosystem celebration and collaboration for girls, boys as allies to girls, life skills, digital skills, education, sport, the city, climate change and technology.
It’s always a good day when we get the chance to go outside and play, together.
Taking place at the Jay Prakash Narayan Sports Ground in JP Nagar, Bengaluru, and welcomed over 2,000 girls from 18 government schools. Placing girls at the center of their story, the day featured a unique blend of sports and technology. Key partners, including Oracle, BT, Bengaluru FC, and the Government of Karnataka, were on the stage answering questions from the crowd of children in a fun Q&A session, then it was time for everyone to hit the pitch and complete the coding challenges in the nine tents and every 15 minutes switch to play football.
36 teams of children, with embedded volunteers, moved through the playful tech and football challenges led by a DJ, two MC’s and two giant leaderboards that showed which team had won that round.
Following the opening Q&A, the "Game On: Climate Change Games began”. Young people participated in a dynamic rotation of challenges, mini football matches run by Bengaluru FC coaches and coding challenges led by Oracle and BT volunteers. The coding stations were hands on enabling children to build calculators using AI and designing quizzes for climate and smart city solutions.
In keeping with its theme, Match Day 2026 was a ‘zero-plastic’ event. A sustainable and locally sourced lunch was served on leaf plates, and climate action messaging was integrated throughout the venue.
The ‘Outdoor School for Girls and Boys, which Match Day celebrates delivers sport (football) combined with digital, life, STEM, and Sustainable Entrepreneurial skills through an integrated curriculum for girls in Government schools from Grades 5-10. The program is designed to equip girls with the skills they need to complete their education and transition to kick-starting sustainable enterprises that solve for Climate Change and create green jobs in the city.
“BT’s long-standing partnership with Going to School is a source of great pride for all of us and also of real joy for all our volunteers who regularly contribute their skills to The Outdoor School for Girls. They truly help bring digital skills to scale through sport, bringing to life BT’s ambition for digital inclusion for all ,” said Ian McBride, Head, Social Impact, BT Group, India.
“Match Day is always a great day. It’s the chance for us all to come together, outside, offline to talk about the future skills we all need to make real for ourselves and young people, to play, learn, play, laugh out loud and out of breath, let go and smile widely. Match Day gives us a chance to figure out how we’re going to play together when everything comes out to play at the same time, life skills digital skills, football, technology, AI, climate change, education, ensuring girls complete school and dare to become city-changing entrepreneurs. We’re over the moon to be able to partner with the Government of Karnataka, Oracle, BT Group, the British Asian Trust and Bengaluru FC, we couldn’t do this without you, thank you for unwavering support and for coming out to play today, it means the world to us,” added Lisa Heydlauff, CEO, Going to School.
The Outdoor School for Girls works in Bengaluru and Raichur, North Karnataka, with an exciting MOU that enables the project to deliver dynamic skills to girls and boys during school hours, with football and excitingly to expand to five rural districts in Karnataka over the next three years.
BT Group is the UK’s leading provider of fixed and mobile telecommunications and related secure digital products, solutions and services. BT Group consists of four customer-facing units: Consumer serves individuals and families in the UK; Business covers companies and public services in the UK; International serves multinational organisations headquartered outside the UK and overseas public sector customers; Openreach is an independently governed, wholly owned subsidiary wholesaling fixed access infrastructure services to its customers – over 700 communications providers across the UK.
British Telecommunications plc is a wholly owned subsidiary of BT Group plc and encompasses virtually all businesses and assets of the BT Group. BT Group plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange. For more information, visit www.bt.com/about
Oracle Volunteering. Oracle Volunteers worldwide share a common goal: Do well by doing good. Each year, they donate their time and skills to support hundreds of nonprofit organizations and public institutions, positively impacting tens of thousands of lives annually.
The British Asian Trust is a UK-based, diaspora-led international development organisation founded in 2007 by a group of British Indian business leaders, driving sustainable and long-term social impact across education, child protection, livelihoods, conservation, and mental health. The British Asian Trust is driven by the belief that complex social challenges require systemic, collaborative solutions - beyond traditional approaches to philanthropy - and brings deep expertise in outcomes-based finance and large-scale programme delivery.
Going to School is a creative not-for-profit education trust that makes design-driven stories to equip young people, especially girls, with the dynamic skills she needs to stay in school and transition from school to sustainable enterprise of her choice solving for the dual challenges of our time, youth unemployment and climate change. www.goingtoschool.com
Women In Animation Mixer At Bengaluru GAFX 2026 Highlights Returnships, Upskilling And Women Entrepreneurship
The Women in Animation – “Her Frame. Her Future.” Mixer at Bengaluru GAFX 2026 convened artists, studio professionals, entrepreneurs, policymakers and students for a focused dialogue on strengthening women’s participation in the Animation, VFX, Gaming and Comics (AVGC-XR) ecosystem.
Designed as a dedicated and supportive platform, the mixer enabled curated mentor roundtables, lightning talks and structured networking, alongside a live Opportunity Wall featuring job openings, internships and collaboration pathways. The initiative aimed to create meaningful career visibility while reinforcing Karnataka’s inclusive AVGC-XR growth vision. The session was led by Dr. Manjula N., Secretary, Department of Electronics, IT & BT and S&T, Government of Karnataka along with women industry leaders and emerging talent from across the country.
Addressing the gathering, Dr. Manjula N. said: “Today’s discussion with women professionals in the animation sector was both insightful and necessary. We heard firsthand about the structural challenges they face — from career breaks and limited access to skilling opportunities to the need for stronger mentorship and institutional support.
As a Government, our focus is on facilitating structured and scalable solutions. Through our Centres of Excellence, we will explore targeted interventions — including capacity-building programs for women returning to the workforce, and upskilling initiatives for those already employed but seeking greater access to advanced training and growth opportunities.
We will further encourage participation through programs such as Elevate and our Deep Tech initiatives, while creating structured mentorship networks to enable industry connect and leadership pathways. Importantly, we intend to take this forward in a focused manner and scale these efforts across the ecosystem.
Women’s participation in animation is currently less than 25%, significantly lower than in several other sectors. Yet women bring a distinct creative edge and are exceptionally wellsuited to thrive in this industry. The opportunities within the creative economy are immense, and enabling and facilitating women’s contribution will be a priority takeaway from today’s engagement.”
B.S. Srinivas, Convenor, ABAI & Co-chair, Bengaluru GAFX said, “When women creators rise, the entire AVGC-XR ecosystem becomes stronger, more innovative and globally competitive.
”Madhurima Manyara, Indian Digital Gaming Society (CII), said: “It was fantastic to see how many women are committed to growing in the AVGC-XR industry. The discussion focused on how we can bring women back into the workforce and create stronger opportunities for women entrepreneurs in this space. What stood out was the spirit of collaboration — women supporting each other across the nation. The beauty of this forum was to connect, network and embrace each other’s growth.”
The Women in Animation Mixer at Bengaluru GAFX 2026 reaffirmed that inclusive participation is central to Karnataka’s long-term AVGC-XR roadmap, positioning women as critical drivers of innovation, creativity and global competitiveness.
Hombale Films Expands Kantara Universe into Gaming And Tabletop Formats At GAFX 2026
Hombale Films unveiled Mystic Pillars x Kantara at GAFX 2026, marking its expansion into interactive entertainment. The update integrates themes of folklore, spirituality, and environmental balance from the Kantara universe into the acclaimed puzzle game Mystic Pillars, originally developed by Holy Cow Productions. Featuring 12 new themed puzzles, cinematic cutscenes with Kannada voice-overs, and environmental restoration mechanics, the expansion is available across PlayStation, PC, and mobile platforms.
Further extending the universe beyond screens, Hombale Films also announced a Kantara-inspired tabletop card game developed by Mozaic Games. Designed as a light strategy, semi-cooperative experience for 2–6 players, the game explores themes of land, karma, and collective responsibility. Players balance individual goals while protecting shared forest resources — where collapse means everyone loses.
The tabletop game will be officially unveiled at GAFX this month with demo sessions and designer interactions.
With these initiatives, Hombale Films signals its evolution beyond film production, building a multi-format storytelling ecosystem that brings culturally rooted narratives into gaming and shared play experiences for audiences in India and globally.
Further extending the universe beyond screens, Hombale Films also announced a Kantara-inspired tabletop card game developed by Mozaic Games. Designed as a light strategy, semi-cooperative experience for 2–6 players, the game explores themes of land, karma, and collective responsibility. Players balance individual goals while protecting shared forest resources — where collapse means everyone loses.
The tabletop game will be officially unveiled at GAFX this month with demo sessions and designer interactions.
With these initiatives, Hombale Films signals its evolution beyond film production, building a multi-format storytelling ecosystem that brings culturally rooted narratives into gaming and shared play experiences for audiences in India and globally.
Micron Celebrates Opening Of India’s First Semiconductor Assembly And Test Facility
Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: MU) today celebrated the grand opening of its semiconductor assembly and test facility in Sanand, Gujarat, India. The state-of-the-art facility converts advanced DRAM and NAND wafers from Micron's global manufacturing network into finished memory and storage products. Once fully ramped, the first phase of Micron’s Sanand operation will feature more than 500,000 square feet of cleanroom space, making it one of the world’s largest single-floor assembly and test cleanrooms. The site serves customers worldwide to meet the growing global demand for memory and storage fueled by AI.
The facility represents a combined investment of approximately $2.75 billion by Micron and its government partners, advancing semiconductor manufacturing capabilities in India. Micron Chairman, President and CEO Sanjay Mehrotra and other executives witnessed the opening ceremony with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Minister of Gujarat Bhupendra Patel,
Union Minister for Railways, Communications, Electronics & IT Ashwini Vaishnaw, U.S. Ambassador to India Sergio Gor and other distinguished government officials and guests.
"Today is a proud moment for Micron and India's growing semiconductor industry," said Sanjay Mehrotra, Chairman, President and CEO of Micron Technology. “This pioneering facility, the first assembly and test site of its kind in the country, helps build a resilient ecosystem that underpins the global AI economy. We are deeply grateful to the government of India, the Gujarat government and all of the partners involved for their steadfast support in making this achievement possible."
The Sanand site is ISO 9001:2015 certified and has begun commercial production. To mark the grand opening of the site, Micron presented its first shipment of made-in-India memory modules to Dell Technologies for its laptops made in India for India. Micron expects to assemble and test tens of millions of chips at Sanand in 2026, scaling to hundreds of millions in 2027. The expansion of conventional assembly and test operations in India complements Micron's planned development of advanced manufacturing and packaging capabilities in the United States and strengthens the company’s global assembly and test network.
“The inauguration of Micron’s semiconductor facility in Sanand marks a historic milestone as Bharat begins its first commercial semiconductor chip production,” said Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw. “This is a decisive step towards building a trusted, resilient and self-reliant semiconductor ecosystem under the leadership of Hon’ble PM Shri Narendra Modi Ji. India is now moving from being a consumer of chips to becoming a global hub for semiconductor manufacturing and innovation.”
Micron is building India's next generation of semiconductor talent to support its operations in India. Through partnerships with Pandit Deendayal Energy University (PDEU), Namtech, leading universities nationwide and government-sponsored skills development programs, Micron is supporting STEM education, specialized training, workforce readiness for advanced manufacturing roles and community initiatives, including digital and AI literacy programs across the region.
Micron built and is operating the assembly and test facility in accordance with the company's sustainability goals, rigorous health and safety standards, and with local and global environmental commitments. The facility is designed to meet or exceed Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold standards. Additionally, the facility uses advanced water-saving technologies to enable zero liquid discharge.
About Micron Technology, Inc.
Micron Technology, Inc. is an industry leader in innovative memory and storage solutions, transforming how the world uses information to enrich life for all. With a relentless focus on our customers, technology leadership and manufacturing and operational excellence, Micron delivers a rich portfolio of high-performance DRAM, NAND and NOR memory and storage products. Every day, the innovations that our people create fuel the data economy, enabling advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and compute-intensive applications that unleash opportunities — from the data center to the intelligent edge and across the client and mobile user experience. To learn more about Micron Technology, Inc. (Nasdaq: MU), visit micron.com
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