Inside TNGSS 2025: How Tamil Nadu Is Building A Globally Connected Startup Ecosystem

The recently concluded Tamil Nadu Global Startup Summit (TNGSS) 2025 in Coimbatore wasn’t just another networking event. It ended as a powerful, two-day display of economic intent. 

The summit saw participation from 72,278 attendees, including 609 speakers (328 from overseas) and facilitated 1,206 one-on-one interactions between 453 startups and 115 investors.

Beyond participation metrics, the summit recorded investment commitments totalling INR 127.09 Cr before its commencement. Investor connect sessions led to multiple deal discussions that continue to move forward post-event.

These outcomes underscore Tamil Nadu’s broader ambition of becoming a $1 Tn economy by 2030. To complement the investment interest, the summit also served as a launchpad for several corporate–startup collaborations.

The event also witnessed corporate players stepping up with strategic resources like PhonePe’s payment gateway solution, Tally’s free one-year access to TallyPrime for startups and HP’s packaging solutions, which provide essential tools needed for scaling a high-growth business. 

As the event drew to a close, the focus shifted from investments to ecosystem capacity-building. During the closing ceremony, sanction orders were distributed for 22 pre-incubation centres and 15 incubation centres under the Scale-up Grant scheme.

TN Policy And Partnership Playbook 

The government announced an INR 100 Cr Fund of Funds to strengthen venture capital participation and unveiled the Vision 2035 Blueprint prepared by Startup Genome.

Further grounding its approach in data-backed impact, the government released,  The State of Tamil Nadu Startup Ecosystem Report by Inc42, mapping the state’s current progress and highlighting areas where further policy or institutional support may be required.

The government also distributed Scale-up and Special Seed Grants to women, differently abled and transgender founders, as part of its focus on inclusive entrepreneurship.

A total of 23 agreements were signed with corporates, global agencies and research institutions to facilitate collaboration, technology exchange and market access for startups. Collectively, these partnerships form part of a broader strategy to blend capital support, global connectivity and institutional collaboration, strengthening Tamil Nadu’s startup ecosystem for long-term growth.

Let’s take a look at some highlights:

• Corporate Collaboration: Samsung R&D, Decathlon and Lowe’s India introduced innovation challenges to identify and co-develop solutions with startups.
• Startup Resources: Tally Solutions offered complimentary TallyPrime licences for early-stage companies.
• Research Partnerships: MoUs with IGCAR, NIFTEM and NRCB aim to enable technology transfer and incubation support in specialised domains.
• Global Soft-Landing: Partners such as hub.brussels, AsiaBerlin, Link Innovations, RxN Hub, River Venture Studio and Choose Paris Region announced mentorship and market access support for Tamil Nadu startups.

The Roadmap To A New Economy

The outcomes of TNGSS 2025 will depend on how the announced collaborations translate into measurable results in the coming months.

With participation from 47 countries, the initial estimates indicate that the TNGSS catalysed 235 cross-border collaborations. These engagements span startups entering overseas markets, joint product testing, co-development of technology and incubation at leading global accelerators. These tangible outcomes grant Tamil Nadu startups the critical access to advanced R&D, new customer bases, and global funding networks.

The announcement of the INR 100 Cr Fund of Funds, the Vision 2035 roadmap and 23 global MoUs indicate Tamil Nadu’s intent to strengthen its position within India’s evolving startup ecosystem.

“In the coming months, StartupTN will closely handhold startups to ensure investor commitments and MoUs translate into actionable outcomes. Structured follow-up mechanisms will track funding progress, corporate collaborations and global incubation tie-ups,” said StartupTN chief executive and mission director Sivarajah Ramanathan. 

If executed effectively, these frameworks could help Tamil Nadu move beyond event-led enthusiasm to sustained, measurable impact, turning summit pledges into long-term economic outcomes.