Bengaluru vs Hyderabad has been a hot topic of discussion for over decades. We often see animated discussions on social media, with supporters of the two cities taking sides to defend their cities’ supremacy.Though Bengaluru is far ahead in IT exports, startup ecosystem, VC funding and social infrastructure, Hyderabad is emerging as an alternative with strong city infrastructure and fewer traffic bottlenecks. Industry experts discussed this topic at T-Hub, the country’s biggest startup incubator, and felt that the comparison and the imaginary fight should be put to rest. They feel they should compete with global hubs and seize new opportunities rather than see one another as competitors.“The rivalry between the two tech hubs plays out loudly online, often driven more by emotion than evidence,” Prashanth Prakash, Chairman of UnboxingBLR, said.UnboxingBLR released ‘A Tale of Two Cities’, the latest edition of the WeAreCity series, which provides data on various IT hubs in the country and their standing across several indicators.“What amazes me is the local entrepreneurship. A lot of entrepreneurship in Bengaluru is from outside. There’s nothing wrong with that; people from all over the country come and build there. But I see that in Hyderabad, there is a lot of local talent that is ready to build for India and the future,” he said.B V R Mohan Reddy, former Chairman of Nasscom and Founder-Executive Chairman of Cyient, felt that the ‘Hyderabad versus Bengaluru’ narrative was unnecessary.“This question of Hyderabad and Bengaluru is not of recent origin. My question has been – why are you worried about Bengaluru? What this nation requires is 20 Bengalurus. And Hyderabad is in the making,” he said.“Why should we compete with Bengaluru? We should compete with the world. The world is there today for startups at this point in time,” he said.He felt that the two cities should have a collaborative approach to grow together.Pullela Gopichand, Chief National Coach for the Indian Badminton team, said it was time for tier-II and tier-III cities to receive attention. “We must see these smaller cities grow,” he said.“Over the last decade, Hyderabad has evolved from a technology hub into one of India’s most important innovation ecosystems. What makes the city unique is the convergence of deep scientific research, engineering talent, global capability centres, supportive institutions and ambitious founders,” Sateesh Andra, Managing Partner, Endiya Partners, said.A report on the Hyderabad Innovation ecosystem was released. It said the city is home to more than 10,000 startups, which have attracted over $3 billion in venture funding since 2014. It also accounted for nearly 20 per cent of India’s GCC base with more than 400 centres.Ramesh Byrapaneni, Managing Partner, Endiya Partners, said that the last decade established Hyderabad’s credentials as a startup and innovation hub. “The next decade will be defined by scale,” he said.Published on June 8, 2026