For years, when someone talked about startups in India, the conversation usually went in the same direction: Bengaluru, Mumbai, Delhi-NCR, Hyderabad or Pune.
These cities have everything a startup founder could ask for. Investors, experienced employees, technology companies, incubators, networking events and a large customer base. Bengaluru, in particular, has become almost synonymous with India's startup ecosystem.
But something is changing.
India's startup story is slowly moving beyond the biggest cities. Jaipur, Indore, Coimbatore, Chandigarh, Kochi, Bhubaneswar, Lucknow and several other cities are attracting founders, companies and talent. And now, government-backed programmers are also putting more focus on building startup ecosystems outside the traditional technology hubs.
A recent example is Electroporate 2.0, a programmed focused on electronic system design and manufacturing startups. The program has a budget of around ₹47 crore and aims to support about 500 startups, with a particular focus on Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities such as Dehradun, Mandi, Jaipur and Chandigarh. The idea is simple: there is talent across India, so why should innovation be concentrated in only a handful of cities?
The bigger question is whether these cities can actually become the next major startup hubs.
The talent is already there
One of the biggest arguments against building startups outside major cities has always been access to talent.
That argument is becoming harder to make.
India has millions of students and professionals living outside the traditional technology canters. Many of them are engineers, designers, developers, business professionals and entrepreneurs. A large number of people who moved to Bengaluru, Mumbai or Delhi for work are also increasingly considering opportunities closer to their hometowns.
Recent hiring trends also suggest that smaller cities are becoming more attractive for technology companies. Cities such as Coimbatore, Chandigarh and Jaipur are developing stronger technology and engineering ecosystems, giving companies access to talent without always having to compete in the country's most expensive technology hubs.
The interesting part is that smaller cities don't necessarily need to become another Bengaluru.
Jaipur doesn't have to copy Bengaluru. Coimbatore doesn't have to become Hyderabad. Indore doesn't have to compete directly with Mumbai.
Each city can develop around its own strengths.
A city with strong engineering colleges may become a technology and R&D hub. Another with a manufacturing base could become a hardware or industrial startup Centre. Another could focus on fintech, healthcare, education, agriculture or logistics.
That could actually be India's advantage.
Why would a startup leave Bengaluru?
The answer is not that Bengaluru is becoming irrelevant. It is not.
Bengaluru remains one of India's strongest startup ecosystems and continues to attract significant funding, talent and technology companies.
But building a company there can also be expensive.
Office space costs more. Salaries can be higher. Competition for experienced employees is intense. Employee attrition can become a problem. Even everyday expenses can be considerably higher for a young startup team.
A smaller city can offer a different equation.
A founder may be able to build a team at a lower operating cost while still accessing good local talent. Employees may have lower living expenses and may not have to deal with the same level of traffic, housing costs and daily commuting pressure.
For a startup that is still trying to find product-market fit, controlling costs can make a big difference.
And there is another advantage that is often ignored: local markets.
India's next generation of customers is not living only in the biggest cities.
People in smaller cities are shopping online, using digital payments, taking online courses, working remotely, starting businesses and using digital services every day.
For many startups, these markets are not secondary markets anymore. They are the opportunity.
The government is also changing the equation
The rise of smaller startup hubs is not happening completely on its own.
Government programs are increasingly trying to create infrastructure, funding opportunities, incubation centre and mentorship outside the major metropolitan areas.
Electroporate 2.0 is one example. It provides startups with access to physical labs, incubation and co-working facilities, technology and business mentoring, networking opportunities, funding access and intellectual property support.
Karnataka is taking a similar approach with its Beyond Bengaluru strategy.
The Hubballi-Dharwad-Belagavi region already has hundreds of startups and tens of thousands of technology jobs, and the state is looking to attract more companies, startups and Global Capability Centres to the region.
This is important because building a startup ecosystem requires more than giving a founder a desk and internet connection.
You need universities, investors, mentors, skilled employees, customers, infrastructure and companies that can create opportunities for one another.
Once enough pieces come together, an ecosystem can start creating its own momentum.
But becoming a startup hub is not easy
There is also a danger of getting carried away with the "next Bengaluru" narrative.
Simply opening an incubator does not create a startup ecosystem.
Startups need access to capital. They need experienced mentors. They need people who have already built and scaled companies. They need specialized talent. They need customers who are willing to pay.
This is where many smaller cities still have work to do.
A founder might find excellent developers locally but struggle to find a senior product leader. A startup might have a great idea but find it difficult to meet investors regularly. A hardware company might have access to talent but lack specialized manufacturing infrastructure.
These gaps cannot be solved overnight.
There is also the question of whether talented young people actually want to stay in smaller cities.
For many professionals, a big city still offers more career choices, networking opportunities and exposure to different industries.
So the goal shouldn't be to force people to stay.
The goal should be to make staying a genuinely attractive option.
Remote work could change everything
This is where the future of work becomes particularly interesting.
A developer living in Jaipur does not necessarily need to move to Bengaluru to work for a Bengaluru-based startup anymore.
A designer in Kochi can work with a company in Delhi.
A product manager in Indore can work with a startup in Mumbai.
A software engineer in Ranchi can contribute to a global company without relocating.
Remote and hybrid work have made geography less restrictive for many technology roles.
This could be one of the biggest advantages smaller cities have.
Instead of trying to convince every company to move completely out of Bengaluru, India can build a distributed startup ecosystem where companies and talent are connected across cities.
Imagine a startup with its founders in Jaipur, engineering team in Indore, design team in Pune, operations team in Lucknow and customers across India.
A few years ago, that would have been difficult to manage.
Today, it is increasingly possible.
The next startup story may be more distributed
India does not necessarily need one new startup capital.
It could have many.
Jaipur could develop its own strengths. Coimbatore could build around manufacturing and engineering. Kochi could grow around technology and services. Indore could develop into a strong business and technology Centre. Chandigarh could attract entrepreneurs and technology companies.
And there are many other cities that could become part of this story.
The important thing is not which city becomes "the next Bengaluru."
The real question is whether India can create enough strong ecosystems so that a talented person does not have to leave their hometown simply because they want to build something meaningful.
That would be a much bigger achievement.
What this means for young entrepreneurs
If you are sitting in a Tier-2 or Tier-3 city today and thinking about starting something, the environment is changing.
You don't necessarily need to wait until you move to a major city.
Start small. Find your customers. Build something useful. Connect with other founders. Look for incubators and government programs. Use online communities to find mentors and employees.
Your city may not have everything yet, but it may have something that Bengaluru cannot easily offer: lower costs, local knowledge, strong community connections and access to markets that are still underserved.
The internet has already removed many geographical barriers.
The next step is building the physical ecosystem around that digital opportunity.
Maybe the question is not "Can they?"
So, can Tier-2 cities become India's next startup hubs?
I think the better question is: How many of them can?
India is too large and too diverse to have its entrepreneurial future concentrated in just a few cities.
The next generation of Indian companies could come from places we don't traditionally associate with startups.
Maybe the next big founder will build a company from Jaipur.
Maybe the next hardware breakthrough will come from Dehradun.
Maybe a global technology company will emerge from Coimbatore.
Maybe an entrepreneur sitting in a smaller city today is already building something that millions of people will use tomorrow.
The opportunity is there.
Now the challenge is to build the ecosystem that allows that opportunity to grow.
What do you think? Can Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities become serious startup hubs, or will Bengaluru, Mumbai and Delhi continue to dominate India's startup ecosystem?
Google News reference: Google News: India startup and Tier-2 city news
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