Daijiworld Media Network – Mangaluru
Mangaluru, April 25: 'Techwaves 2025: Rise of the Silicon Beach of India', a landmark event hosted by Vertex Workspace, was held on Friday, April 25 at Vertex Five, Kadri, Mangaluru. The event brought together industry leaders, tech innovators and policymakers to spotlight Mangaluru’s rapid evolution and its growing potential as a key player in the global technology sector.
The event featured four high-impact panel discussions, each exploring a critical area shaping Mangaluru’s transformation into a technology powerhouse. The sessions brought together leaders from industry, academia and government to examine the city’s expanding role in digital innovation and global competitiveness.
Rise of Global Capability Centres (GCCs) and Mangaluru’s position
This panel examined how Mangaluru is emerging as a potential player in the global GCC ecosystem, which is expected to be a significant driver of job creation and innovation. The discussion highlighted the city’s growing contribution to international service delivery and strategic operations.
MLA and Keonics chairman Sharath Kumar Bachegowda noted, “Incentives alone do not attract Global Capability Centres (GCCs). GCCs choose Bengaluru not because of incentives, but because of the talent pool available there. Although Mangaluru has many engineering colleges, it still lacks the kind of opportunities needed to attract GCCs.”
He also shared details of a major government initiative: “The government plans to establish an IT centre at Blueberry Hills in Mangaluru on a 3.5-acre plot. The facility will be a grade-A building built to platinum standards. We expect the tender process to begin in the next couple of months, with the groundbreaking ceremony scheduled for June. The project is expected to be completed within 2.5 years.”
The panel was moderated by talent engagement specialist Divyashree Gatti (UnifyCX), and included Anand Fernandes (CEO, EG India), Ashith Hegde (Managing Director, Arkieva), Roopalaxmi Pedamale (Development Manager, NCR Atleos Group), and Manikandan Subramanian (VP and GM, Everi India Pvt Ltd).
Deep Tech on the rise in Mangaluru
With a solid foundation in engineering and an emerging startup ecosystem, Mangaluru is making strides in deep tech sectors such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT) and digital health. This panel explored how the city is positioning itself as a nucleus for cutting-edge technological innovation.
Moderated by Johnson Tellis (CEO, Sahyadri College), the panel featured Namith Padmaraj (Director, ENG Bose Professional), Shashir Shetty (Chief Growth Officer, Niveus Solutions) and Ananth Pandit (Managing Director, Omnenest Technologies Pvt Ltd).
Mangaluru’s edge in the IT Services sector
This session focused on the factors attracting both established IT firms and startups to Mangaluru—its skilled workforce, high quality of life, and operational efficiency.
MP Capt. Brijesh Chowta said, “I truly believe in the potential of Mangaluru—an ocean of possibilities. We need to build an ecosystem that connects industry, academia, investment, entrepreneurship, and startups, making the region more investment-friendly. That’s the idea behind the ‘Back to Ooru’ initiative. Even if people can’t physically return, they can still contribute to building this ecosystem.”
He emphasised the need to focus on three high-potential sectors—port and maritime, petrochemicals, and healthcare.
“We need to plug into these sectors and develop solutions that allow us to compete with the biggest cities. My goal is to create a platform where knowledge can be shared to strengthen this ecosystem.”
The session was moderated by Mohammed Azzan Patni, Co-founder and Director of Pace Wisdom Solutions Pvt Ltd.
Importance of world-class workspaces
The final panel focused on how infrastructure and managed workspaces are critical to sustaining Mangaluru’s growth story. The discussion highlighted the role of quality work environments in attracting talent and enabling business scalability.
Recognising tech leaders fuelling Mangaluru’s growth
The event also featured a felicitation ceremony recognising emerging technology leaders who are contributing to Mangaluru’s status as a global innovation hub. The honourees included Koki Kato from Kobayashi Create India, Takashi Miyasaka from NIDEC Advanced Technology, Jagath Biddappa and Navajith Karkera from Sonic Lamb, and UnifyCX.