Beyond Hitec City: Is Telangana building multiple technology hubs across the State?

Attracting companies to new locations is only the first step. The success of Telangana’s emerging technology clusters will depend on whether businesses can build strong local networks and skilled talent can grow alongside them

By Kalyan Sivalenka

For years, Hyderabad’s growth story has centred on HITEC City and its surrounding IT corridor. The concentration of technology companies, global capability centres and skilled professionals has helped establish the city as one of India’s leading technology hubs. Telangana now faces a broader question: can it build on this success to develop additional centres of investment, innovation and employment across the State?

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The government’s ambitions extend beyond IT services into life sciences, data centres, electronics, semiconductors, electric mobility and advanced manufacturing. Each sector has different requirements, from scientific research and specialised engineering to reliable power and industrial supply chains. Attracting companies to new locations is only the starting point. The wider economic impact will depend on whether businesses, skilled workers and research institutions can develop alongside them.

Building on Tech Advantage

Genome Valley shows what industry specialisation can look like when it develops over time. Established in 1999, it now houses more than 200 companies and a scientific workforce of around 15,000 professionals. Pharmaceutical and biotechnology firms, vaccine manufacturers and research facilities operate within the cluster, giving companies access to specialised laboratories, scientific talent and industry expertise. Telangana’s life sciences sector has grown to more than 2,000 companies and accounts for about a third of global vaccine production.

Emerging sectors will need similarly specialised ecosystems. Data centres require reliable power, fibre connectivity and cooling infrastructure, while electronics and semiconductor manufacturing depend on technical talent, testing facilities and specialised suppliers. Battery and electric vehicle manufacturing, in turn, relies on component makers and engineering capabilities that can support production. A single technology hub is unlikely to serve all these needs equally well. Some industries may be better suited to locations beyond Hyderabad, provided they can access the talent, research and business networks that the city has developed.

Data centres are an important part of this expansion. Hyderabad’s existing technology base gives it an advantage as demand for cloud computing and artificial intelligence grows. The State has around 200 MW of live IT capacity, with another 4.7 GW in the committed or early-stage pipeline. If these projects move ahead, they could significantly expand the State’s data-centre capacity in the coming years.

The State is identifying locations such as Chandanvelly and Bharat Future City for data-centre development. Yet the scale of investment does not necessarily translate into comparable employment. Construction requires a substantial workforce, but operational facilities employ far fewer people. The wider economic gains will depend partly on whether these projects generate sustained demand for engineering services, equipment suppliers and technical maintenance firms.

Space tech and deep tech offer Telangana an opportunity to expand beyond conventional IT services. Hyderabad is home to companies such as Skyroot Aerospace, which is developing launch vehicles, and Dhruva Space, which builds satellite systems. Their presence points to the potential for the city to develop a stronger role in India’s private space industry.

Semiconductors offer another avenue for growth. Telangana has an established base in chip design and research, and is looking to expand into semiconductor manufacturing and advanced packaging. Together, these sectors could diversify the state’s technology economy and build on its existing engineering expertise.

Skills and Networks That Make Clusters Work

The availability of specialised workers can influence where companies choose to operate. When firms in the same industry draw from a common talent pool, employers can recruit more easily and professionals can develop expertise without leaving the region. Telangana already has institutions that can support this process. T-Works provides electronics testing, PCB fabrication and prototyping facilities, allowing startups and smaller manufacturers to develop products without investing in all the necessary equipment themselves.

TASK’s partnership with Dell Technologies, announced in September 2026, aims to train 5,500 students across 25 centres in AI, cloud computing and electronics manufacturing. Extending such facilities and training programmes to emerging industrial locations could help companies recruit locally and strengthen the supplier base.

Research institutions can also help turn technical expertise into commercial activity. The Research and Innovation Circle of Hyderabad (RICH) connects research institutions with companies and startups, including medical-device and diagnostics businesses seeking to test products and move towards commercialisation. Similar links between researchers, manufacturers and startups could help companies in newer industrial locations solve technical problems and bring products to market. This would allow the expertise concentrated in Hyderabad to support industries developing elsewhere in Telangana.

HITEC City and Genome Valley’s success shows what sustained investment in talent, infrastructure and business networks can achieve. Telangana has an opportunity to build on that experience, using its established technology base to support specialised industries in other parts of the state. With the right mix of infrastructure, skills and industry partnerships, these locations can develop into centres of expertise. Over time, this could give Telangana a more diverse industrial base while creating new opportunities for businesses and professionals beyond Hyderabad.

(The author is Managing Partner, Hyderabad Angels Fund)