20 Start‑ups to Pitch at KAN Cohort‑2 Demo Day in Mysuru

Twenty start‑ups will present their solutions at the KAN Cohort‑2 Demo Day on Friday in Mysuru’s RP Singhania Auditorium, part of JSS Technical Institutions Campus. The event is organized by SJCE‑STEP and JAIN Launchpad under the Karnataka Acceleration Network programme, backed by the Karnataka Department of Electronics, IT and BT and the Karnataka Digital Economy Mission. Investors, industry leaders and other ecosystem players are expected to attend to explore funding, partnerships and growth opportunities. CEO B. Shivashankar of SJCE‑STEP said the demo day aims to link regional ventures with capital and expertise, helping them scale beyond metropolitan hubs. The 20 participating start‑ups span EdTech, food and agriculture, digital solutions, hardware, energy, healthcare, electric mobility and consumer products. Each company has completed a structured acceleration track that included mentoring, workshops, business‑model refinement and market validation. Pitch sessions run from 10 a.m. to 3.30 p.m., followed by product exhibitions that stay open for the day. The programme ends with a graduation ceremony for KAN and NIDHI Innovators and the launch of the Maker Sprint from 4 p.m. to 5.30 p.m. SJCE‑STEP highlighted that its NIDHI‑PRAYAS scheme has supported 41 projects with ₹3 crore, leading to 30 prototypes, 18 start‑ups and, collectively, ₹2.5 crore external funding, ₹1.2 crore revenue, eight patents and 55 jobs. ## Context The Karnataka Acceleration Network is a state‑run initiative that nurtures early‑stage tech ventures across the state. Such demo days are a common step for accelerators to connect founders with capital and industry mentors. Mysuru’s growing tech infrastructure makes it a strategic location for expanding Karnataka’s innovation footprint.