A key change is taking place in Bangalore. It is acquiring an innovative capability, which is making it look more like Silicon Valley.
The role historically played by Stanford University in Silicon Valley is being partially fulfilled by the Indian Institute of Science which is slowly turning itself into an incubator of innovative ideas and helping companies like Pico Peta which has produced the Simputer and Strand Genomics, the bio-informatics company.
Bangalore's journey up the innovation ladder is indicated by the number of patents filed by people working in it. The city is way ahead of any other city in India in providing the necessary environment that encourages patent filing.
The culture is inclined towards starting things from scratch and this augers well for filing patents.
As a result, MNCs with Indian arms mostly headquartered in Bangalore are seen to be filing more patents than those located in the rest of the country, says K P Balaraj, managing director, WestBridge Capital Partners, a venture capital firm that manages a $140 million fund.
In an interview with the Business Standard, Balaraj said that Bangalore is beginning to mirror the eco-system of the Silicon Valley in California where innovativeness is the hallmark.
He feels that from being one of the key centres providing best-in-class services, Bangalore is slowly being recognised the world-over for its innovativeness.
Balaraj feels that companies like Texas Instruments, Philips and GE Technology Centre, which have major R&D centres in Bangalore, are classic examples of the high volume of patents that are being filed.
"With continued focus on fundamentals like education and infrastructure, the city will clearly be the most sought-after hub to find talent for innovation in India within the next 20 years. In other Indian cities, the drive towards being innovative is lead by a handful of companies or by some individuals. Whereas in Bangalore, the voice of the IT community is much stronger. Also, the VC community is the strongest in Bangalore. This is another good indicator of where things are heading," he explained.
Balaraj added that from a VC perspective, many interesting ideas that receive funding across the world have their origins in Bangalore.
"The Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, is the best (in India) in terms of conducting research-driven initiatives. This is also one of the reason why Bangalore is the most preferred destination for MNCs," Balaraj added.
In order to keep up this trend, WestBridge feels that the government and the MNCs must play a more active role by funding R&D-related initiatives.