Bangalore or Gurgaon, which address for your startup? | Tech Reddy

This is a match not even Duckworth-Lewis can win.
This September, when torrential rains inundated Bengaluru and the metropolis was panned for its lack of planning, Gurgaon’s stock suddenly soared in swirling social media chatter. A LinkedIn post describing the benefits of living in Gurgaon resonated with many who were disillusioned by the infrastructure of India’s Silicon Valley.
The others sniggered.
In a few days, when the skies opened up over Gurgaon and the streets turned into streams, the Northern Lights of Indian Industry showed why. Airport is just half an hour away. Sure, if you can convert your car into a boat, Twiple joked.
There is no winner in the Bengaluru vs Gurgaon debate when it comes to rain barriers. But when you take rain out of the equation and look at the numbers, Bengaluru is ahead.

Clear winner in numbers
Data from Tracxn shows that Bengaluru has added more than 21,000 startups since 2012, three times more than Gurgaon. Bangalore firms raised about $40 billion in funding, Gurgaon $13 billion. Gurgaon has 11 registered unicorns compared to Bangalore’s 37
Industry insiders say that for choosing a base, infrastructure deficiencies are factors but not key differentiators Bangalore is the number one choice for startups adopting new age technologies like SaaS (Software-as-a-Service), Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, Data Analytics and Deep Tech. The existence of Pathway and a cluster of top engineering colleges and management institutes in the south make it more convenient for early stage startups to have developers, associates and interns in Bangalore.
“Bangalore enjoys the status of Silicon Valley of India as it has a concentrated talent pool,” said Mayank Jain, Head of Marketing and Content at FinBox, a Gurgaon-based B2B fintech company. Bangalore’s ethos, adds Jain, is driven by the “efficiency and dynamism” of its tech professionals.
Gurgaon, by comparison, is patronized by seasoned professionals who have left rewarding corporate jobs—or previously helped startups establish their core operations—to start their own businesses, building on their education and the client base they’ve acquired by living in a city. Home to top multinationals and banks.
Don’t forget the service
But it’s not Bangalore’s poor cousin, insists Ashutosh Pasteur, manager of startup incubation at IIT Delhi’s Foundation for Innovation and Technology Transfer. “When it comes to deep technology, where technology is the differentiator, Bangalore continues to enjoy market leader status. But Gurgaon has done exceptionally well,” he says.
Pastor described Gurgaon as an “excellent” pick for startups operating in the service sector. These, he explains, rely less on communities and ecosystems, have a clear understanding of markets, clients and services, and want to be closer to policymakers.
Gurgaon’s extensive roads and seamless metro connectivity to the rest of the NCR – mainly, Delhi and Noida – are also significant advantages.
Why vibes matter
Industry observers, however, cite a handful of factors that still make Bengaluru a “natural choice” for a startup founder. For ideas that need community support, easy early stage angel funding and support from many tech mavens, Bangalore is the only choice. “If you have an idea, chances of finding the right partner and support are much higher in Bangalore than in cities like Mumbai or Gurgaon. That’s why I shifted my base to Bengaluru,” shares Asharya MalhotraFounder of Rephrase.ai, an AI startup.
Top venture capitalists in the country are based in Bangalore. Accelerators and incubators are also very active here. “Be it a business partner or core team member, middle-management or entry-level team, or agencies and partners – you find them in abundance and in good quality in Bengaluru,” says Mohammad FarazFounding partner of Upsparks, a Bangalore-based micro-VC enterprise.
Yes, the vibe is the thing. Serendipity also plays a role. In a random Bengaluru cafe, you are more likely to bump into a startup founder, venture capitalist or developer than in a Gurgaon mall or high street bistro.
“This whole vibrant ecosystem is missing in Gurgaon,” admits Mohit Thukral, Nasscom board member and founder of Vivaterra, an IT consulting and services firm in Gurgaon.
An urgent need
But the Millennium City, he added, is narrowing the gap. “Gurgaon is home to leading Fortune 500 companies and has been producing unicorns year after year. Also, in the last few years, exceptionally high-performing colleges have come up in and around Delhi-NCR. Thus, the talent pool has expanded tremendously,” says Thukral.
What Gurgaon misses a lot though, is the absence of accelerator hubs and lack of hustle and bustle of incubators. “A little push from the government could solve that,” the pastor thinks.
One startup that operates offices in both cities is Healthians. “Initially, every six months, we would discuss whether to keep Bengaluru as our base or stay in Gurgaon. Bangalore offers a large talent pool and a good network of investors and accelerators. But retaining technicians is a big challenge. In Gurgaon, one can expect to retain tech talent for a good 3-4 years. Thus, in the end, Gurgaon had to be our headquarters and Bengaluru our base in the south,” said Deepak Sahniwho founded a healthcare diagnostics company.
In the end, it is the inventors who make the difference, whether the address is ‘GGN’ or ‘BLR’. And in both cities, talent continues to flourish despite an appalling lack of urban planning and civic apathy.