ELEVATE Aspire 2026 — Startup Karnataka Grant (Beyond Bengaluru) — Frequently Asked Questions

Selected startups receive a one-time grant of up to ₹50 lakh, disbursed in two equal tranches against milestone achievements.

Applications open on 25 May 2026, and the last date to apply is 25 June 2026, 5:00 PM IST.

Startups registered in Karnataka outside the Bengaluru Urban region, incorporated as a Private Limited Company, One Person Company, Registered Partnership Firm, LLP, or Co-operative Society, within 10 years of incorporation, with annual turnover under ₹200 crore and a team of at least two people.

No. The grant is fully non-dilutive — no equity is taken in exchange for the funding.

DPIIT recognition is not required. MSME registration is also not mandatory for eligibility.

Yes. You can apply to more than one call (e.g., Aspire, Unnati, Shakti), but a single pitch will be evaluated across all applied calls, and the cumulative grant is capped at ₹50 lakh.

You will need incorporation/registration details, business and innovation information, founding team credentials, financials, a grant utilisation plan, and other mandatory documents as specified on the portal.

Applications are scored out of 100 on Novelty/Innovation (30), Strength of Business Model (30), Potential Socio-economic Impact (20), Team Strength (10), and Budgetary Allocation (10). Aspire applicants skip the desk-based pitch deck review and go straight to Multi-City Pitching, where a minimum score of 60 is required to reach the Grand Finale.

Submit your application online through the official ELEVATE portal at elevate.startupkarnataka.in.

ELEVATE Aspire 2026 — Startup Karnataka Grant (Beyond Bengaluru) is offered by Startup Karnataka, a government body. It is provided as non-dilutive funding.