Bengaluru crosses 1 million tech workforce mark; ranks among 12 global powerhouse cities: CBRE

Bengaluru has entered the ranks of the world’s most elite technology cities, surpassing the one-million mark in tech workforce and emerging as Asia-Pacific’s largest tech talent market alongside Beijing and Shanghai. 

According to CBRE’s Global Tech Talent Guidebook 2025, the milestone places India's Silicon Valley in the ‘Powerhouse’ category—a grouping that includes just 12 global tech hubs, including San Francisco, London, New York, and Tokyo. 

The report assessed 115 cities worldwide across Powerhouse, Established, and Emerging—based on talent availability, quality, and cost. Bengaluru’s inclusion in the top bracket is credited to a combination of demographic strength, institutional capacity, venture capital activity, and rising depth in artificial intelligence (AI) development. 

CBRE highlighted the city's 12% growth in tech employment between 2018 and 2023, outpacing many global peers. The report also pointed to the strategic role Bengaluru plays in global AI research and product engineering. Of the $3.3 billion in venture capital deals closed in the city in 2024, 34 focused on AI—a signal that India's tech capital is increasingly driving innovation at the global frontier.

“Bengaluru’s emergence as a global tech powerhouse reflects India’s strategic depth in digital innovation, AI, and talent readiness,” said Anshuman Magazine, chairman and CEO for India, South-East Asia, Middle East and Africa at CBRE.

The city’s working-age population—constituting 75.5% of its residents—ranks fourth among the 12 powerhouse cities, with a 2.4% growth in this demographic between 2019 and 2024. This is considered crucial in sustaining the supply of skilled professionals.

Bengaluru’s network of Indian Institutes of Science, premier engineering colleges, and Global Capability Centres (GCCs) has played a key role in shaping its workforce pipeline. While labour and real estate remain the biggest operating costs for non-manufacturing tech companies, Bengaluru continues to offer a scalable, high-skill, and cost-competitive environment for enterprises building AI-led and software-first solutions.

CBRE’s Ada Choi, head of research for the Asia-Pacific region, noted that as global companies broaden their search for transformative AI capabilities, cities like Bengaluru are becoming central to long-term corporate and real estate strategies.

The report also charts a larger national pattern. Delhi-NCR completed 183 VC deals worth $1.9 billion in 2024, including 42 AI-focused investments, and now hosts 15 unicorns and 16 IPO-stage companies. Mumbai, meanwhile, notched up 167 deals totalling $4.9 billion—the highest tally in India this year—anchored by 26 AI investments and 47 public listings.

Other cities are beginning to reshape the country’s innovation geography. Ahmedabad’s growth is catalyzed by GIFT City, which is expected to house over 550 firms and significantly expand its white-collar workforce. Jaipur, with a concentration of engineering colleges and low operational costs, is attracting startups focused on cost efficiency and mid-market scaling.