TechSparks 2026 Day 1: Sridhar Vembu, Priyank Kharge, spacetech founders chart India's 'New Tech Order'
TechSparks 2026 Day 1: Vembu backs tech ownership over GPUs, Kharge pushes Beyond Bengaluru, and Tech30 2026 is unveiled.
Day 1 of TechSparks 2026 in Bengaluru brought together tech leaders to discuss India's future in the tech industry. Zoho Co-founder and Chief Scientist Sridhar Vembu emphasized the importance of owning foundational technologies, rather than merely spending money on GPUs. He argued that India lacks technology ownership, which prevents non-tech professionals from benefiting from the country's economic gains.
Vembu also predicted significant disruption in software industries as AI becomes more prevalent, and urged India to follow East Asian economies' example in building foundational layers first.
Minister for Home Affairs, IT, Biotechnology and E-Governance of Karnataka, Priyank Kharge, outlined Karnataka's strategy to bring investment to regions with existing talent pools. He highlighted successes from the Beyond Bengaluru Mission, including Mysuru, Mangaluru, and Hubballi-Dharwad delivering significant IT exports. Kharge announced the establishment of region-specific centers of excellence, including AI centers and agritech and horticulture centers.
In a separate session, Spacetech founders AgniKul Cosmos and GalaxEye shared their experiences in navigating investor rejections and building their companies against the backdrop of geopolitical tensions in the space industry. Both emphasized the need for growth-stage capital and improvements in supply chains, while remaining optimistic about attracting top engineering talent back to India's deeptech ecosystem.
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