French AI envoy Anne Bouverot said Bengaluru has the potential to emerge as the next Silicon Valley. The southern city is widely known for a thriving startup ecosystem and is home to several tech and financial giants.
In an interview with Hindustan Timeswhen asked where a new Silicon Valley could emerge globally apart from China, Bouverot responded: “Well, clearly I mean Bangalore could be one.”
She also named several other nations and regions that could potentially emerge as a new Silicon Valley, including France, Germany, Switzerland, and Nairobi in Kenya, indicating that each of these places has a growing technology ecosystem and strong potential for innovation.
Anne Bouverot is the special AI Envoy of French President Emmanuel Macron. She organized the previous global AI summit – The AI Action Summit – in Paris in 2025. This year, France passed the Global AI Summit baton to India, which witnessed widespread traction from leaders and people across the world.
Why is Bengaluru famous as a startup and innovation hub?
Tech and AI companies are increasingly choosing Bengaluru as a strategic base, as it has a deep pool of skilled developers to offer, along with a rapidly growing market demand. A recent high-profile example is US-based research firm Anthropic, which officially opened its first Indian office in Bengaluru as part of its global expansion.
Speaking to HT, Dev Khare, an investor in software and digital startups originating in India and a partner at Lightspeed, previously shared his thoughts about this emerging AI landscape, particularly in Bengaluru.
He highlighted that while Silicon Valley focuses on building AI tools for companies and their employees, Bengaluru is developing AI that disrupts India’s own service industries, including IT services, BPOs, consultants, and call centres.
At the same time, Indian startups are creating AI for 1.4 billion consumers, addressing everyday problems that the Valley does not target, noting how companies in India are focused on building practical and scalable technologies.
“Bengaluru is building AI that cannibalizes India’s own services empire—BPOs, IT services, consultants, call centers—plus AI for 1.4 billion consumers the Valley isn’t building for,” he said during the interview.
The AI summit — what is it?
The global AI Summit will be held in India from 16 to 20 February 2026. The event is expected to bring together leaders from different spheres, including heads of state, senior ministers, global technology executives, researchers and startup founders.
This event is set to position India as a key voice in shaping the next phase of AI development. At the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, several global leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron and Brazilian President Lula da Silva, are scheduled to attend the AI Impact Summit. Meanwhile, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang backed out of the event at the last minute.
