The Government of Karnataka and the Department of Commerce & Industries, in partnership with TiE Global and TiE Bangalore, announced the winners of the VentuRISE 2024-25 Global Startup Challenge at the 3rd day of Invest Karnataka 2025, the Global Investors Meet. The winners were felicitated by Gunjan Krishna, IAS, Commissioner for Industrial Development and Director, Department of Industries & Commerce, Government of Karnataka, Basavaraj Horatti, Member of the Karnataka Legislative Council, Shri. D.K. Shivakumar, Deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka, Shri. Shashi Tharoor – Member of Parliament for Thiruvananthapuram Chairman, Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs, IT & Chemical and Fertilizers, George, Former PM of Greece & Member of Parliament, Panhellenic Socialist Movement/ Movement of Change, Shri. M.B.Patil, Minister of Large and Medium Scale Industries of Karnataka, Shri. KJ George, Energy Minister of Karnataka, Shri. Priyank Kharge, Minister for information Technology and Biotechnology of Karnataka and IAS S Selvakumar, Additional Chief Secretary Department of Industries and Commerce, Government of Karnataka,during an event that celebrated innovation, entrepreneurship, and the spirit of disruptive growth.
The challenge witnessed close to 1,000 applications from across the globe, underscoring Karnataka’s growing stature as India’s innovation powerhouse. The Grand Jury Pitch Round brought forward groundbreaking ideas across three critical sectors: Aerospace &Defence (A&D), Electronics Systems Design & Manufacturing (ESDM), and Electric Vehicles & Clean Mobility (EV & CM). The winners across the sectors are as follows:
Aerospace &Defence
• Winner: Nautical Wings Aerospace (Shiv Varun Singh Rajput, CEO)
o Founded in 2020, Nautical Wings Aerospace is advancing electric propulsion for UAVs & aircraft, tackling fuel dependency & emissions.
o Accomplishments: 2 granted patents, 3 pending; collaborations with leading aerospace firms.
o Ask: Seeking insights from Collins Aerospace on the future of electric & hybrid propulsion.
• First Runner-Up:SiriNor Technologies India Pvt Ltd
• Second Runner-Up:Nabhdrishthi Aerospace Pvt Ltd
Electronics Systems Design & Manufacturing (ESDM)
• Winner:Zepco Technologies Pvt Ltd (Dr. Ramesh Srinivasan, CEO & Harsha Venkatesh, CBO)
o Founded on March 14, 2022, Zepco specializes in electric propulsion systems for drones & EVs and high-efficiency power electronics.
o Accomplishments: World record for lifting 30Kg at Umling La pass for Indian defense; awarded by SFAL under Elevate 2023.
o Ask: Seeking investment and customers.
• First Runner-Up:Medblue Innovations Pvt Ltd
• Second Runner-Up:Vyuhaa Med Data Pvt Ltd
Electric Vehicles & Clean Mobility (EV & CM)
• Winner:InfinityX Innovations Pvt Ltd (Satyam Raj, CEO)
o InfinityX is accelerating EV adoption by developing hybrid EV charging & swapping stations for rapid charge delivery.
o Accomplishments: Pilot deal signed with EKKO Group; winners of KTM B2B Challenge & Eureka IIT Bombay.
o Ask: Understanding corporate willingness to support startups via pilot projects.
• First Runner-Up: Li-Circle
• Second Runner-Up: E2SVD Pvt Ltd
The winners received a total prize pool of $300,000 along with exclusive access to industry leaders, investors, expert mentors and potential collaborators.
VentuRISE 2024-25 took center stage at the Global Investors Meet (GIM) 2025, held from February 11–14, 2025, at Bengaluru Palace. As Karnataka’s premier startup challenge, VentuRISE serves as a platform to nurture deep-tech innovations and accelerate growth for high-potential startups.
The challenge received significant support from corporate partners such as Epsilon Carbon, BOSCH, Gold Plus, Lam Research, and Toyota, among others.Amazon, EMMVEE,Volvo,TataHitachi,TVS,Hero Future Energies, KSDL and MSILTheir involvement underscores the industry’s recognition of Karnataka’s robust entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Since its inception, VentuRISE has consistently identified, nurtured, and elevated startups toward global recognition. The inaugural edition in 2022 attracted over 1,200 applications, with winners like Devic Earth Pvt. Ltd. and Suzhiyam Industrial Machines achieving notable milestones in sustainability and advanced manufacturing.
The 2024-25 edition witnessed applications from across India, the U.S., Egypt, and Italy, bringing together diverse perspectives and innovative solutions across the three focus sectors. The evaluation process was rigorous, consisting of three rounds assessed by the Steering Committee and an Interim Jury and finally a pitching session to the Grand Jury based on:
Product Idea
Current Traction & Scalability/ Stage of Development
Team Composition and Strength
Benefit to Society/Sustainability of the Solution
Relevance to problems faced by industry
Business and Revenue model
• Innovation & Creativity: Novelty and uniqueness of the proposed solutions.
• Stage of Development: Technical readiness and commercialization potential
• Scalability & Market Potential: Growth trajectory and market fit.
• Founding Team’s Expertise: Vision, leadership, and execution capabilities.
As Karnataka continues its journey toward becoming a global innovation hub, initiatives like VentuRISE play a pivotal role in fostering entrepreneurship, encouraging innovation, and driving economic growth. The Government of Karnataka remains committed to supporting startups with the resources, mentorship, and infrastructure needed to succeed on a global scale.

About TiE
TiE is a global network of passionate thinkers, leaders and entrepreneurs on a mission to inspire, educate, and empower individuals to be successful entrepreneurs. With the philosophy of “fostering entrepreneurship globally” TiE creates a platform to generate and nurture the next generation of entrepreneurs. TiE was founded in 1992 in Silicon Valley by a group of successful entrepreneurs, corporate executives, & senior professionals. There are currently more than 18,000 members and over 3,000 charter members in 61 chapters in 12 countries.

Over the last 25 years of existence TiE Chapters around the world has become a vibrant platform for entrepreneurs, professionals, industry leaders, investors to interact with one another & forge long lasting relationships.

TiE Bangalore was the first step towards TiE’s presence in the country. Started in 1999 as a nonprofit organization with Mr. Nandan Nilekani as its first President, the sole mission of the chapter has been to make Bangalore the “Start-Up Capital” of the country. Under the leadership of many industry stalwarts like Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Ashok Soota, B.V. Naidu, Dr. Sridhar Mitta and Pradeep Kar, the Chapter has grown from about 190 members with 9 Charter members in 1999 – 2000 to over 750 members and 225 Charter Members today. More details can be accessed via bangalore.tie.org