The TiE Global Summit 2024 concluded today in the historic city of Mysuru, bringing to a close four days of insightful discussions, innovation, and celebration of cultural heritage. Starting in Bengaluru and culminating at the Mysore Palace, the summit provided a platform to explore global entrepreneurial opportunities while embracing India’s rich traditions. The global event was organized by TiE Bangalore, with Karnataka Digital Economy Mission (KDEM) as a strategic partner and support from the Government of Karnataka as the State Partner. It was co-hosted by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), MeitY Startup Hub, India AI Mission, and Software Technology Parks of India (STPI).

The day witnessed the announcement of the prestigious TiE Global Awards, celebrating exceptional entrepreneurial achievements and reinforcing the summit’s role as a leading global platform for innovation and collaboration. The TiE Global Awards 2024 celebrated entrepreneurial excellence across 18 prestigious categories, recognizing exceptional leaders, organizations, and startups shaping the global startup ecosystem. The Spirit of TiE Awards were presented to Hiroshi Mikitani, Founder & CEO of Rakuten, Anu Aga from Thermax, and Eric Yuan, CEO of Zoom Communications, for their outstanding contributions to entrepreneurship and innovation. In the Ecosystem Awards, ANTLER was awarded Best Global Incubator/Accelerator, Harvard University was recognized as the Best Global University Promoting Entrepreneurship, and Amazon received the Best Global Corporate Supporting Entrepreneurship award. The Most Active Angel Network – Global honor went to AngelList, while the Best Government Agency Supporting Startups globally was awarded to the Israel Innovation Authority and regionally to Invest India. Khosla Ventures was named the Best Performing VC Fund.

The Unicorn/Startup Awards highlighted disruptive innovations, with Revolut winning the Most Innovative Startup award and TBM Co. Ltd receiving the Sustainability Excellence Award. Grammarly was honored for transitioning from a bootstrapped startup to a multi-billion-dollar enterprise globally. At the same time, Kaynes Technology and Mankind Pharma were recognized for their regional bootstrapped-to-billions success.

The Trail Blazing Woman Entrepreneur awards went to Melanie Perkins of Canva (Global) and Upasana Taku of MobiKwik (Regional). Finally, Srikanth Bolla was honored with the Unstoppable Award for his extraordinary perseverance and accomplishments.

Mickey Mikitani, Chairman & CEO of Rakuten Group, received the Spirit of TiE Award at the TiE Global Summit and said in his video address “It was very special for us to receive the award. Although we are a Japanese company, we are expanding globally, including in India, where thousands of people are working, and it is an important place to us. We aim to continue contributing to the spirit of entrepreneurship in India. We believe in the importance of entrepreneurship and innovation, values that we share with TiE.”

Delivering his acceptance speech in his video address after receiving the Spirit of TiE Award at the TiE Global Summit, Eric Yuan, Founder & CEO of Zoom Communications, said, “To me, entrepreneurship has always meant not giving up on a dream. Reflecting on the Zoom journey, it has been a privilege to make communication and connection seamless. Today, I am confident in the future and Zoom’s ability to connect the world. TiE exemplifies the spirit of innovation by nurturing entrepreneurs who dare to dream and innovate. I am proud to encourage others to solve important challenges.”

The final day, co-hosted by TiE Bangalore, NICEorg, and TiE Mysuru, also spotlighted Cultural Entrepreneurship, a unique conclave dedicated to showcasing art, tourism and culture time, TGS 2024 brought Cultural Entrepreneurship to the forefront in partnership with NICE. It was brought to life through insights by Nand Kishore Choudhary, Social Entrepreneur, Chairman & Managing Director, of Jaipur Rugs, and dynamic panels featuring leaders like Vinay Parameswarappa, Founder, of Gully Tours, and Payal Nath, Co-Founder, Kadam. The day also featured inspiring pitches by social entrepreneurs like Sahar Mansoor, Founder, of Bare Necessities, and a moving conversation between Arjun Ranga, MD, Cycle Pure Agarbathies, and Sanjay Anandaram, Partner, NICEorg. Noted artists and sculptor Dr. Arun Yogiraj participated in the Closing Session and shared his perspectives.

The celebrations at Mysore Palace featured vibrant cultural performances by Ananya Bhat and her team, followed by a symbolic baton-passing ceremony to the Rajasthan TiE Team, as Jaipur will host the next TiE Global Summit in 2025. The ceremony was led by Amit Gupta, Chair TiE Global, Madan Padaki, President of TiE Bangalore and Chair of TGS 2024, with Dr. Deepak Chopra as the Chief Guest alongside Shri. BV Naidu, Chairman KDEM, Dr. Mahesh Rao, President of TiE Mysore, and Sanjeev Gupta, CEO of KEDM, marking the exciting transition to the next chapter of TiE’s global entrepreneurial journey.