What does it take to build a new tech city? Ask Karnataka’s neighbours

Karnataka keeps talking about decentralizing tech beyond Bengaluru. Its neighbors are actually doing it.

Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh are building tech cities from scratch—tier-2 clusters with land banks, fast-track approvals, and statutory bodies with real power. Major companies are choosing Visakhapatnam and Tirupati over Bengaluru now.

The difference? Decision-making authority. Karnataka's development body is stuck in a promotional role while other states hand their institutions the teeth to actually execute. One state makes announcements. The others are laying fiber, clearing land, and signing deals.

Southern India's tech map is being redrawn. Just not by the state that started it all.

If you have any thoughts on this episode write to us at [email protected] with Daybreak in the subject line. You can also leave us a comment on our website or the YouTube channel here.

Daybreak is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India’s first subscriber-only business news platform. Subscribe for more exclusive, deeply-reported, and analytical business stories.