The Government of Karnataka, Bengaluru Airport City Ltd. (BACL), and ANSR have jointly announced the launch of a Global Innovation Hub, District I, within BACL’s Business Park. The hub will focus on devloping innovation in industries like AI, quantum computing, blockchain, and customer experience technologies, aerospace, space tech, BFSI, manufacturing, defence, among others.

Located in Kempegowda International Airport’s (BLR Airport) campus, Bengaluru’s aerocity aims to host various hubs that have space for R&D centres, an education and health centre, business parks, MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions), retail, and entertainment such as a mall, concert venue, high street.

Lalit Ahuja, Founder & CEO, ANSR, said, “With the launch of District I, we are not only reaffirming the city’s stature as the Silicon Valley of the East, but we are redrawing the global map of innovation. By uniting start-ups, service providers, GCCs, academia, and public infrastructure on one seamless platform, we are setting a powerful flywheel in motion that will propel the next wave of breakthrough technologies from India to the world”.

Bengaluru Airport City is divided into 4 districts: business district , MICE & retail district, design & culture district, and innovation & research district, which will house the Bengaluru International Convention Centre (BICC), a high street with retail, walking streets and plazas, office and workshop spaces, a design institute, a universal library, life sciences park, an Air India Academy, media centre, studio apartments and high-end hospitality with a projected 5,200 hotel rooms, including the Taj Bangalore with its 370 rooms and the under-construction combo hotel featuring 775 rooms under the Vivanta and Ginger brands.

With over 16,000 start-ups, 50 per cent of India’s unicorns, 550+ GCCs, the Global Innovation Hub, District 1 will act as a launchpad for start-ups and a commercialisation engine for academic research and is part of the Phase 1 of the aero-city’s development.

(Report filed by BL intern Divyatha Chilukuri)

Published on June 17, 2025