Silicon Valley of India, Bengaluru Hosts Country's Largest Tech Startup Summit TechSparks 2016; Inaugurated by State IT Minister

BANGALORE, September 30, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Amid thunderous applause and cheer, Karnataka IT, BT, and Tourism minister Priyank Kharge inaugurated the seventh edition of India's most-loved tech summit, TechSparks, in Bengaluru on September 30. Over seven years of its existence, TechSparks has made a name for itself by showcasing the most promising tech startups from India and bringing together industry veterans and ecosystem enablers.

     (Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160930/413736 )

In her opening speech, YourStory Founder and CEO Shradha Sharma recalled the seven-year journey of TechSparks, which started from anonymity in 2010 with a handful of believers. Addressing a jam-packed hall of more than 3,000 people, she urged entrepreneurs, startup founders, and those keen on starting up to find their spark to be successful.

Inaugurating TechSparks2016, Kharge said, "Bengaluru is one of the fastest growing cities in India and in the world. It is a torchbearer of technology revolution in India." He added, "The city has 4,000-plus active startups with an average valuation of $3.3 million."

On the startup-friendly policies of the State government, Kharge said, "Our Startup Booster Kit will make it easier for startups to launch and scale. We are setting up incubators across Karnataka to promote entrepreneurship and commercialisation of R&D."

With 'Build, Grow and Monetise' as its theme this year, TechSparks is going back to the startup fundamentals of sustaining scale with real numbers and real revenues (and not just valuations). TechSparks 2016  is putting the focus back on building real businesses, growing real consumers, and having real revenues (not GMVs).

Over two days (Sept 30 and Oct 1), the event is showcasing a stellar line-up of speakers, which include Karnataka IT, BT and tourism Minister Priyank Kharge; Additional Chief Secy to the Govt, C&I Department, Government of Karnataka Ratna Prabha; Future Group's Kishore Biyani, Tata Sons' Brand Custodian Dr Mukund Rajan; MapMyGenome's Anu Acharya, Julie Knight from Zendesk, BookMyShow's Ashish Hemrajani, Sequoia Capital's Shailendra Singh, Zendesk's Morten Primdahl, Shopify's Bram Sugarman, ZestMoney's Lizze Chapaman, Kunal Shah, BabyChakra's Naiyya Saggi, Vista Room's Ankita Seth and Ten Ten Ten Digital Products' Ramesh Srivats, among many others.

The event will also witness the launch of four revolutionary tech products:

1. Tork motorcycle - India's first electric performance motorcycle
2. Blink Smartwatch - A smartwatch which is 9 times faster than any other smartwatch.
3. Boxc.in by Chaipoint - An IoT enabled Chai/Filter coffee dispenser
4. F6S Alpha Card - A private concierge for top founders with startup ecosystem recognition

TechSparks 2016 has some of the most credible and innovative brands supporting the event. These include Zendesk, Axis Bank, Sequoia Capital India Advisors, Digital Ocean, Microsoft, Amazon Web Services, Target, Akamai, and Kerala Startup Mission. The diversity of sponsors is also a testimony to the increasing interest in and the consciousness of the value the startup ecosystem can create for the Indian economy. The event showcases more than 60 exhibitors.

About TechSparks:  

Since its inception in 2010, TechSparks has covered more than 16 cities, hosted more than 540 speakers and recorded more than 15,000 attendees.

With its ever-increasing commitment to support innovative startups from across India, TechSparks showcases the coveted Tech30 list, which includes 30 of the most promising startups that we believe will go a long way: a belief that has stood the test of time in these past six years.

Tech30 - It's the list that every tech startup wants to be on  

It is no secret that over the years, many of the startups on our annual Tech30 lists have gone on to achieve great heights and leave their mark on the Indian startup ecosystem. Little Eye Labs, Forus, Capillary, Freshdesk and Loginext are but a few of the Tech30 startups that have become examples to emulate. Just earlier in May, Niki.ai one of our TechSparks Tech30 companies, got funded by Ratan Tata.

Of the 180 startups showcased in the past years, 97 have raised growth capital after they featured on the Tech30 list. In fact, more than $630 million of growth capital has been injected in these startups after they were part of TechSparks' Tech30 list. 

About YourStory:  

Since 2008, YourStory.com has published over 40,000 stories of entrepreneurs, innovators, and change-makers. YourStory has also provided business networking opportunities to over 50,000 entrepreneurs through the various conferences and meetups it holds across the country, such as TechSparks and MobileSparks. The platform is available in 12 Indian languages, becoming the only digital media firm in the country to reach such a broad reader base.

Media Contact:
Alok Soni
alok@yourstory.com
+91-(80)-46573636
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SOURCE YourStory Media Pvt Ltd