College and University Incubators in Karnataka
53 college and university incubators in Karnataka. Campus incubators sit inside a college, institute or university, so they tend to take earlier-stage teams and can give access to labs, faculty and student talent. Some admit only students and alumni while others take outside founders; check who each one is open to before you apply.
NSRCEL, IIM Bangalore
IIM Bangalore's startup incubator: free programmes for founders at idea, prototype and growth stage, plus sector tracks in climate, mobility, fintech and healthcare.
DERBI Foundation
Healthcare and medtech incubator at Dayananda Sagar's DSU Innovation Campus in Bengaluru, created in 2015 with DST-NSTEDB support, running a PACE-GALLOP-EMERGE ladder plus a BIRAC BioNEST track and five national funding schemes.
IIITB Innovation Centre
IIIT Bangalore's startup incubator in Electronics City, running ATOM pre-incubation, Orbit incubation, FLASH acceleration and MeitY TIDE 2.0 grants — open to outside founders.
MUTBI, Manipal
DST-recognised technology business incubator at Manipal Academy of Higher Education, running DST NIDHI and MeitY GENESIS programmes and open to founders from outside the university.
NaaViC, ICAR-NIVEDI
The agri-business incubation centre at ICAR-NIVEDI, Bengaluru, for animal health, veterinary and agri startups.
ACSEL Technology Forum
AI centre under the IIT Alumni Centre Bengaluru, running the Avinya accelerator for Karnataka-based AI startups.
GINSERV
Bengaluru technology business incubator and accelerator backed by DST, running incubation and acceleration cohorts since 2010.
KLE CTIE (KLE Technological University)
KLE CTIE, the technology business incubator of KLE Technological University in Hubballi, with incubation space on three North Karnataka campuses and an electronics testing lab for ESDM startups.
Centre for Next-Gen Entrepreneurship in Science & Technology Foundation (CNEST), KLE Tech
Technology business incubator at KLE Tech's Belagavi campus, backed by Karnataka's IT & BT department under TBI 2.0, for deep-tech founders in medtech, agritech, AI, manufacturing and electronics.
BMS Institute of Technology and Management
Bengaluru engineering college whose BICEP innovation centre runs a campus business incubator for its students and faculty.
JSS Institutions
Mysuru's JSS educational group running incubation across engineering, medical, and management campuses in Karnataka.
NMIT Bangalore
Engineering college in Yelahanka, Bangalore, with an MSME-supported business incubator, an innovation council and a student entrepreneurship cell.
RNS Institute of Technology
Bangalore engineering college with innovation programs and startup incubation in VTU's technology corridor.
SJC Institute of Technology
Chikkaballapura engineering college with innovation programs and startup support in Karnataka's rural tech corridor.
Scaler School of Technology
On-campus incubator at Scaler School of Technology in Bengaluru, helping students build deep-tech startups before they graduate.
Basaveshwar Engineering College Science and Technology Enterpreneurs Park
Basaveshwar Engineering College Science and Technology Enterpreneurs Park is an institution in Bagalkot, Karnataka.
SHARNBASVA UNIVERSITY, KALABURAGI
SHARNBASVA UNIVERSITY, KALABURAGI is an institution in Kalaburagi, Karnataka.
NAVODAYA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
Incubation Centre at Navodaya Institute of Technology, Raichur, for technology start-ups that solve local problems.
Indian Institute of Technology Dharwad
Research and technology incubator linked to IIT Dharwad, run by dhaRti Foundation, with a biotech and healthcare centre (dhaRti-BioNEST) and support across other sectors.
Davangere University
Davangere University is an institution in Davangere, Karnataka.
Shri Madhwa Vadiraja Institute of Tehnology and Management
Engineering and management college at Bantakal, Udupi, whose MiTiE incubator supports technology startups with a rural focus.
DAYANANDA SAGAR COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
Campus pre-incubation for students and outside founders at Dayananda Sagar College of Engineering in Bengaluru, run through its Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development Centre.
ACHARYA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
Acharya TBI is the technology business incubator of Acharya Institutes in Bengaluru. It supports technology startups and student entrepreneurs.
B M S College of Engineering
The innovation and incubation cell of B.M.S. College of Engineering in Bengaluru, for its own students and faculty.
AMC Engineering College
AMC Engineering College is an institution in Bengaluru (Urban), Karnataka.
Dr. Ambedkar Institute of Technology
Engineering college in Bengaluru, affiliated to VTU, whose Ambedkar Centre for Tech Startup (ACTS) supports student tech startups from idea to company.
Bangalore Institute of Technology
Bangalore Institute of Technology is an institution in Bengaluru (Urban), Karnataka.
East West Institute of Technology Bengaluru
East West Institute of Technology Bengaluru is an institution in Bengaluru (Urban), Karnataka.
RV College of Engineering
RV College of Engineering is an institution in Bengaluru (Urban), Karnataka.
S.E.A College of Engineering & Technology Bengaluru
S.E.A College of Engineering & Technology Bengaluru is an institution in Bengaluru (Urban), Karnataka.
S.E.A. College of Science, Commerce and Arts
S.E.A. College of Science, Commerce and Arts is an institution in Bengaluru (Urban), Karnataka.
Alliance University
Private university in Anekal, Bengaluru, recognised by the UGC, whose Technology Business Incubator (AU-TBI) supports technology start-ups from idea to scale.
RAJARAJESWARI COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
RAJARAJESWARI COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING is an institution in Bengaluru (Urban), Karnataka.
NEW HORIZON COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
Incubation and pre-incubation centre of New Horizon College of Engineering in Bengaluru, open to students, staff and outside founders with a business idea.
Cambridge Institute of Technology
Cambridge Institute of Technology is an institution in Bengaluru (Urban), Karnataka.
PES College of Engineering, Mandya
PES College of Engineering, Mandya runs a Ministry of MSME-recognised business incubator and a Karnataka government-supported incubation centre for student and early-stage founders.
Sri Adichunchanagiri college of Pharmacy, BG Nagara
Sri Adichunchanagiri college of Pharmacy, BG Nagara is an institution in Mandya, Karnataka.
Malnad College of Engineering
Technology business incubator at Malnad College of Engineering in Hassan, Karnataka, managed by ME-RIISE Foundation, now taking applications for its second cohort.
VIJNAN FOUNDATION FOR INNOVATION RESEARCH IN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
VIJNAN FOUNDATION FOR INNOVATION RESEARCH IN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY is an institution in Dakshina Kannada, Karnataka.
ST ALOYSIUS COLLEGE ST ALOYSIUS INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
St Aloysius Incubation Centre, Mangaluru, a unit of St Aloysius (Deemed to be University), supports entrepreneurs with innovative ideas through the early stages.
Sahyadri College of Engineering and Management, Mangaluru
Mangaluru engineering college whose Section 8 arm, SHINE Foundation, runs the Karnataka Acceleration Network cluster for coastal Karnataka startups.
Mangalore Institute of Technology & Engineering
Incubation centre at MITE, Moodabidre near Mangalore, offering space, mentoring and seed funding routes for young entrepreneurs and student ideas.
Srinivas Institute of Technology
Srinivas Institute of Technology is an institution in Dakshina Kannada, Karnataka.
Central Institute of Petrochemicals Engineering & Technology CIPET
Central Institute of Petrochemicals Engineering & Technology CIPET is an institution in Mysuru, Karnataka.
BLDE University
DST NIDHI inclusive Technology Business Incubator (i-TBI)
GSSS Institute of Engineering for Women
DST-funded technology business incubator on the GSSSIETW campus in Mysuru, for food, agro and health care startups
National Design Business Incubator (NDBI), Bengaluru
NID's design-led business incubator, with a Bengaluru campus at Rajajinagar Industrial Estate and an 18-month programme open to any Indian-registered startup.
dhaRti Foundation, IIT Dharwad
Incubator on the IIT Dharwad campus in Karnataka, running the BIRAC-backed dhaRti BioNEST centre for biotech, medtech and healthcare startups.
Wider lists
Other lists in Karnataka
Academic elsewhere
Browse incubators by sector
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Browse incubators by who they are for
Choosing a college or university incubator in Karnataka
College and university incubators sit inside an institute, which shapes everything about them. They are often the most accessible route for first-time founders: they take earlier-stage teams, they can offer lab and workshop access, and they put you near faculty and student talent. For a deep-tech or hardware idea that came out of research, an institute incubator can be the only place that has the equipment you need.
The main question to settle is who is allowed in. Some campus incubators take only current students, alumni or faculty-led spin-outs, and others are open to outside founders. Some are tied to one institute's research areas, and some serve a wider region. The college and university incubators above include both kinds, so the eligibility on each profile matters more than the name of the institute.
Think about what you need from the campus. If it is a lab, ask exactly which equipment is available and how it is booked. If it is a network, ask how often mentors are on site. If it is credibility, ask how many startups have come through and what became of them. A well-known institute with a thin programme is a worse choice than a smaller one that gives you what you actually need.
The numbers on this page
- 53 of the 357 organisations we list in Karnataka (15%) are tagged "Academic".
- By stage focus, the most common are Ideation (36), Validation (31) and Early Revenue (9).
- By sector, the most listed are Social Impact (18), Deep Tech (17) and Others (15).
- By city, most are in Bengaluru (30), Mangaluru (3) and Mysuru (3).
- Many are also tagged Incubator (49) and Accelerator (5), so the same organisation can appear on more than one list.
- 9 of 53 offer coworking space on site.
What to ask a campus incubator
- Is it open to outside founders, or only to students, alumni and faculty?
- Which labs, workshops and equipment can a startup use, and how are they booked?
- Is there a desk or a dedicated space, or is it mainly mentoring?
- Does the incubator take equity, and does the institute claim any rights over what you build?
- How many startups has it supported, and are any still active?
- Does the programme run during the academic calendar, or all year?
Frequently asked questions
How many college and university incubators are there in Karnataka?
We list 53 college and university incubators in Karnataka, out of 357 startup support organisations we list there. The count updates as profiles are added and verified.
Where in Karnataka are most college and university incubators based?
Counting the profiles on this page, most are in Bengaluru (30), Mangaluru (3) and Mysuru (3).
Can I join a college incubator in Karnataka if I am not a student there?
Some campus incubators accept outside founders and some do not. The eligibility is stated on each incubator's profile or application page, so check who it is open to before you apply.
Do college incubators take equity?
Practice varies. Some take a small stake, some charge a fee for space and services, and some take nothing. Ask for the terms in writing, including who owns intellectual property developed during the programme.