National Institute of Engineering (NIE), Mysuru has been officially recognized as a Technology Business Incubator (TBI) under the Karnataka Government’s flagship TBI 2.0 initiative.
In recognition, NIE-TBI will receive a grant of ₹10 crore over five years from the Karnataka Innovation and Technology Society (KITS), Government of Karnataka. The incubator will function as a TBI 2.0 hub with a strategic focus on agritech, energy and artificial intelligence (AI), in line with the objectives of the Karnataka Startup Policy 2022-2027.
The TBI 2.0 initiative was launched to support research, innovation and start-up activities outside Bengaluru. As part of the state’s ‘Beyond Bengaluru’ vision, 11 new TBIs are being set up across Karnataka, excluding Bengaluru city, to strengthen regional innovation ecosystems, a press release said.
TBIs are specialized facilities linked to academic, technical and research institutions that nurture technology startups and innovation-based businesses. They play a vital role in bridging the gap between research and commercialization by supporting early-stage start-ups during their most critical stages through infrastructure, mentoring, access to funding and market connections, the report said.
Speaking on the occasion, Amjad Husain, CEO and Head of NIE Center for Innovation and Startups said that NIE-TBI will focus on much-needed agritech and energy solutions, including AI/Machine Learning enabled mobility and intelligent systems.
“Our vision is to create world-class facilities that drive innovation and commercialization in critical sectors. NIE-TBI will create advanced infrastructure such as an agricultural equipment testing facility, advanced manufacturing capabilities, a clean energy laboratory for sustainable fuel technologies including biofuels, a full-scale solar energy laboratory, a green hydrogen production and storage laboratory, and the AgroDrone-X initiative will help bridge the gap between advanced technology and agricultural practices,” he said.
The proposed Center for Agricultural Science and Technology aims to transform agriculture using precision agriculture technologies. AI and machine learning solutions will enable smart agriculture, precision irrigation, blockchain-integrated financial systems and predictive analytics for early detection of crop diseases, benefiting start-ups and researchers in the agritech ecosystem.
The existing incubation center at NIE has already supported and turned several startups into successful businesses in various fields such as blockchain, mobility, artificial intelligence, agritech, renewable energy, sports analytics, cyber security, clean tech, drones and air sports.
Mr. Husain further added that NIE-TBI offers a unique value proposition to incubated startups by providing end-to-end support including product development, mentoring, fundraising assistance, go-to-market strategies, product validation, regulatory guidance, testing and scalability support.
Published – 03 Jan 2026 20:22 IST
