India’s startup map is being redrawn. After a decade of dominance by a handful of metros, a new wave of cities — fuelled by local capital, better infrastructure and targeted public programmes — is turning Tier-2 and regional centres into bona fide innovation engines. The result: a more distributed ecosystem where opportunity, talent and markets converge outside the usual coastal giants.
The first reason for the shift is structural. Rising office costs and hiring competition in legacy hubs pushed founders to seek lower burn and faster hiring cycles. Cities such as Hyderabad and Pune now offer mature talent pools — often from nearby engineering colleges and returning expats — plus improved co
...
