Karnataka seeds tech hubs beyond Bengaluru

KEONICS, Karnataka's state technology undertaking, used its Golden Jubilee platform to announce a regional build-out: a 2.5-acre IT Park Annex Phase II and a 36-acre IT SEZ in Shivamogga, a 3.25-acre IT park at Blueberry Hill in Mangaluru, and a 3.48-acre IT park in Mysuru, largely on PPP/DFBOT models. It is also widening its own mandate into IT consulting, system integration, centralised procurement and technical workforce deployment for government departments, plus a KEONEXT G2G marketplace and a refreshed digital education platform. The signal for hiring leaders is not the ribbon-cutting. It is that Karnataka is deliberately seeding non-Bengaluru technology capacity, which will eventually create a second tier of talent demand, and a cheaper, lower-attrition alternative to the state's congested primary tech corridor. Key signal: KEONICS is building IT parks across Shivamogga (2.5-acre annex plus a 36-acre SEZ), Mangaluru (3.25 acres) and Mysuru (3.48 acres) to pull technology work out of Bengaluru. For hiring leaders, this matters because for CHROs and GCC leaders, this is an early marker of where the next pool of affordable, lower-attrition technology talent will sit. Bengaluru's cost and churn problem is structural, and state-backed infrastructure in Shivamogga, Mangaluru and Mysuru gives companies a credible reason to place delivery, support and platform teams outside the metro. It also signals government demand for system integrators, IT services vendors and technical workforce deployment, which means vendor hiring, not just captive hiring. The catch: these hubs will need skilling pipelines before they can absorb enterprise-grade AI and cloud work. Firms that build campus and training partnerships early will get first access; those that wait will compete for the same thin senior talent. Teksands view: Tier-2 hiring has mostly been a cost story told by recruiters. Karnataka is now putting infrastructure behind it. For TA leaders, the practical move is to map which roles can genuinely run from Shivamogga, Mangaluru or Mysuru, and start building training pipelines there before the parks fill up. Do not expect senior AI or platform talent on day one. Expect lower attrition, lower cost and a longer ramp.