Bangalore, May 14: The PanIIT Alumni India, in association with the Government of Karnataka, is organising a day–long PanIIT BANGALORE SUMMIT 2026 on the theme of Sovereignty in Technology at Taj Yeshwantpur, Bengaluru, on May 16, 2026.
Under the leadership of PanIIT Chairman Shri Prabhat Kumar, IRS, Principal Secretary e-Governance Govt of Karnataka Shri Pankaj Kumar Pandey, IAS, Bangalore Summit Chair Shri Neeraj Kumar, and Summit Co-Chairs Shri Swadeep Pillarisetti, Shri Sudhakar Gande, Shri Jai Shankar Sharma the day–long AI & Deep Tech Leadership Summit will bring together under one, ubiquitous summit platform over 2,000 plus innovators, senior officials, founders, investors, industry leaders, and policymakers. The summit, brainchild of over 500,000 plus alumni across 23 IITs, actively engaged in shaping technology, business, and policy worldwide, will explore how the community can catalyse the next wave of innovation, entrepreneurship, and nation building
The summit is being organised at a time when India is entering a defining decade of growth with the summit platform catalysing collaboration around AI, deep tech, sustainability, digital infrastructure, and talent development — areas where IIT alumni are already playing transformative roles. The day–long summit will see keynote sessions, panel discussions, CXO roundtable, showcase of cutting-edge startups, hackathon (AI based solutions for various problem statements by Government of Karnataka & Industry) and innovation showcase.
Among prominent thought leaders and eminent speakers addressing the summit We are honoured to host an eminent lineup of speakers, including:
• Governor of Karnataka (Chief Guest)
• Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
• Dr. V. Anantha Nageswaran, Chief Economic Advisor, Govt. of India
• Shivkumar Kalyanaraman, CEO, ANRF
• Air Marshal S Shrinivas, PVSM, AVSM, VSM
• Padma Shri Bharat Goenka, Founder, Tally
• Venkat Padmanabhan, MD, Microsoft Research India
• Irina Ghose, India MD, Anthropic
• Hitesh Garg, India MD, NXP Semiconductors
• Dr. Shalini Rajneesh, Chief Secretary, Govt. of Karnataka
• Abhishek Bansal, CEO, Shadowfax Technologies Ltd
• Harsh Jain, Co-founder & COO, Groww
• Tarun Mehta, Co-founder & CEO, Ather Energy
• Phani Kishan Addepalli, Co-founder, Swiggy, and many more.
karnataka—and in particular Bengaluru—stands today as the epicenter of India’s technological ambition. As one of India’s top GDP-contributing states and the country’s leading hub for venture capital investment, Bengaluru accounts for a dominant share of startup funding and innovation activity. With thousands of engineering colleges and one of the deepest talent pools in the world, it has rightfully earned its place as the ‘Silicon Valley of the East’.
This leadership has not emerged overnight. It is the result of a multi-decade evolution. The first wave was anchored in public sector and strategic institutions such as HAL, NAL, BHEL, and DRDO—laying the foundation for aerospace, defense, and core engineering excellence.
The second wave, in the 1980s and 1990s, saw the rise of IT services giants like Infosys, TCS, HCL, and Wipro, putting India on the global technology map.
The third wave brought consumer technology to the forefront, led by companies like Flipkart, founded by IIT alumni Sachin and Binny Bansal, which catalyzed a generation of entrepreneurs and the broader startup ecosystem.
The fourth wave saw the emergence of globally competitive product and SaaS companies such as Postman and others, building from India for the world.
Today, we are entering the fifth wave—defined by deep technology, artificial intelligence, and scientific innovation. This wave is fundamentally different. It demands longer gestation cycles, deeper research integration, and tighter collaboration between academia, industry, and government. It is here that India must make its most strategic bets if it is to achieve true technological sovereignty.
The Pan-IIT Bangalore Summit 2026 is designed as a response to this moment. Bringing together over 2,000 participants from across all 23 IITs, alongside policymakers, global technology leaders, founders, and investors, the summit is structured not just as a forum for discussion, but as a platform for action.
Through high-level plenaries, deep-dive panels, and parallel tracks across AI, defense, semiconductors, energy, mobility, and healthcare, the summit will identify critical gaps and opportunities. A curated pitch-a-thon will connect high-potential startups with over 200 venture capitalists, while a 10,000-participant hackathon will tackle real-world challenges sourced directly from the Government of Karnataka. These are not theoretical exercises— the best solutions will be evaluated for real deployment at scale within the state.
This integration of ideas, capital, and execution reflects the core philosophy of the summit: to move from conversation to creation, from intent to impact.
At its heart, the summit is also a call to action. In a world increasingly shaped by technological power, India cannot afford to remain a follower. With the United States and China leading the global technology race, India stands as the next major frontier. The opportunity is immense—but so is the urgency. We must build not only in applications, but in deep science, core technologies, and foundational innovation.
The Pan-IIT ecosystem—with its unparalleled intellectual capital and global influence—is uniquely positioned to lead this charge. This summit is a platform to align that potential with national priorities and global ambition.
Sovereign Tech. Built in India. Scaled to the World.