Synopsis: South Indian cities are expanding their tech landscape beyond major hubs like Bangalore. These rapidly rising areas in terms of advanced infrastructure, AI developments, GCCs, data centres and many more areas creating lakhs of job in next 5 years.
South Indian cities are rising as next-generation tech hubs in 2026, driven by talent pools, economic advantages, and strategic investment in GCCs, AI, and deep tech. Cities such as Mangaluru, Coimbatore are growing as tech hubs offering attractive alternative options for IT professionals beyond Bangalore.
Mangaluru’s Rise
68% of Mangaluru’s population is of working age and the city already contributes 5.5% to Karnataka’s GSDP. It is often known as Silicon beach of India. It is getting its first pupose-built Tech Park, a ₹135 crore project over approx 3.25 to 3.5 acres of land with the potential to create 11,000 jobs. Mangaluru, is the home of more than 40 companies that have resulted in the creation of 8,000 jobs within two years with the IT workforce numbering 25,000-26,000. Bose Professional and EGDK are GCCs that have been rapidly expanding with the support of 12,000-15,000 engineering NITK-graduate annual and state incentives. Other recent investments are:
- USD 250 million acquisition of local tech firms
- MIR Group 1,500 crore green manufacturing facility
- ₹70-75 crore local innovation fund.
Coimbatore’s Deep-Tech Push
Coimbatore is rewriting Tamil Nadu’s investment map because Tamil Nadu government signed 158 MOUs worth ₹43,844 crore ensuring 1,00,709 jobs news jobs, the highest ever commitment for the Coimbatore zone. These MOUs are investments across electronics, defence, aerospace, auto electronics, data centres, and GCCs. As the manufacturing hub of South India, Coimbatore boasts of a 21 percent CAGR in technology arrangements with a focus on EVs, ER&D, and AI through parks such as SVB Tech Park and ELCOT SEZ with companies like Cognizant and ThoughtWorks. It attracts Chennai expansions by saving 25-35 percent of costs and high caliber engineering talent. Important recent investments are:
- A 4.6M AI startup, Aivar, funded by Sorin and Bessem,
- A 5M AI robotics investment in Xlogic Labs and 127 crores by the Tamil Nadu Global Startup Summit.
The Data Centre Momentum of Visakhapatnam
Vizag is moving towards creating AI infrastructure. After Google, Meta to partner with Sify Technologies for setting up 500-mega watt data centre Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh with an investment of ₹15,266 Crore. This will be one the largest data centre ever been build in the East coast of India. Visakhapatnam is booming with 10,000 jobs in GCC campus MoU, which is increasing the Andhra tech corridor of R&D and digital services; firms such as Roche and Bayer are upscaling. It is driven by affordability and Coastal SEZs. Recent Investments include:
- Google-go setup of the $15 billion (Rs 1.25 lakh crore) 50 MW AI hub and data centres in a 5-year time frame,
- Meta to build ₹15,266 Crore AI Data centre in Vizag
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Kochi
Kerala is building India’s first Integrated AI Township, Infopark Phase 3, located in Kochi (Ernakulam district), on 300-acre land and India’s first AI-powered city. Developed in collaboration with the Greater Cochin Development Authority (GCDA) and is expected to be completed by 2030, focusing on AI, technology, and sustainability. It is expected to create 2 lakh direct jobs and 6 lakh indirect jobs. It will attract major foreign investments in the state.
Madurai
On 1st March, 2026, PM Narendra Modi has laid the foundation stone of infrastructure projects worth over ₹4,400 crore in Madurai to improve connectivity and benefit people of Tamil Nadu which will also create will create new job opportunities. Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (TIDEL) is constructing a 12-story, 5.34 lakh sq. ft. state-of-the-art IT park in Madurai at Mattuthavani at a total cost of ₹717 crore. It is expected to create 5,500 to 6,000 jobs in various sectors.
| City | Key Strengths | Recent Big Investments | Projected Impact |
| Mangaluru | GCCs, low attrition, data centers | Rs 135 Cr tech park; USD 250M acquisitions; Rs 1,500 Cr green hub | 200K IT jobs by 2033; 11K jobs |
| Coimbatore | EV/ER&D, 21% CAGR | $4.6M Aivar; $5M Xlogic; Rs 127 Cr summit | Tier-2 powerhouse; AI scale-up |
| Visakhapatnam | R&D campus, cost efficiency | $15B Google AI hub; Rs 15,266 Cr Sify DC | 1 GW capacity; thousands of jobs |
| Kochi | AI technology | Infopark Phase 3 | 2 lakh jobs by 2030 |
| Madurai | IT/ITES Companies | TIDEL park | 5,000 to 6,000 jobs |
Future Outlook
The Bengaluru-Mangaluru Expressway and Karnataka IT Policy 2025 are projects that will increase these corridors in an attempt to have 4,000 startups and unicorns by 2035. Tier-2 hubs offer 30-50% reduced prices and better work-life balance, which guarantees balanced South Indian growth.
Written By Jayanth R Pai
