India's first government-driven Artificial Intelligence (AI) University to be inaugurate at the Bangalore

D.K. Shivakumar announced the development of India's first government-driven Artificial Intelligence (AI) University during the inauguration of Google I/O Connect India 2026 at the Bangalore International Exhibition Centre (BIEC).

The Vision: Rather than a standard skilling or training certificate program, this will be a specialized, full-fledged higher education institution dedicated entirely to AI education, cutting-edge research, and deep-tech innovation.

The Campus: The primary campus is slated to span 100 acres in Bengaluru. To expand the state's technical footprint, regional satellite campuses are planned across Mangaluru, Mysuru, Hubballi-Dharwad, Belagavi, and Kalaburagi.

The AI Hub: Alongside the main campus, a dedicated AI Hub will operate as an advanced incubator providing data resources and infrastructure for startups, entrepreneurs, and academic researchers.

Broader Roadmap: To support this push, the government plans to introduce baseline AI education into the school curriculum starting from Class VI and set up high-computing green data centers.

Economic & Strategy Context
The state government's roadmap aims to cement Karnataka's evolution into an “AI-native state”. 
The state is leveraging its immense technological advantage-currently accounting for nearly 40% of India's software exports and hosting a massive ecosystem of over 17,000 tech startups.