The rise of tech events in India: A new era for cloud-native computing
Written by
Chief Commercial Officer at Civo
Written by
Chief Commercial Officer at Civo
As India emerges as a significant player in the global public cloud landscape, with its public cloud services market projected to reach $25.5 billion by 2028 at a CAGR of 24.3% for 2023-28, the country is witnessing a surge in tech events. This growth is mirrored in the live events market, which is experiencing a 15% YoY growth, fostering a stronger community and facilitating the exchange of ideas and innovation in the public cloud sector.
Over the past few years, we have seen cities such as Bengaluru, Delhi, and Mumbai emerge as key hubs for public cloud events, hosting conferences and meetups that bring together industry experts, innovators, and thought leaders. A core example of this is KubeCon + CloudNativeCon, which held its first-ever event in 2024 with over 3,000 live attendees, demonstrating the country's growing appetite for cloud-native technologies.
Throughout this blog, we'll explore the importance of India's growing tech scene and how events like KubeCon and Civo Navigate are creating an educational environment for individuals and organizations to learn more about the cloud market.
Why are events such as KubeCon important for the Indian tech scene?
When thinking about the question “why are events such as KubeCon important for the Indian tech scene?”, we believe that the answer lies in their ability to bring together industry experts, innovators, and thought leaders to drive the future of cloud-native computing.
Having seen the 10-year anniversary of KubeCon, it’s important to reflect on how the conference, which began as a Kubernetes-focused event in San Francisco, has evolved to place a strong emphasis on artificial intelligence (AI). The first-ever KubeCon + CloudNativeCon India in 2024, with a return scheduled for August 6th & 7th, 2025, marked a significant milestone in this journey.
In 2024, Civo joined KubeCon India as the Platinum sponsor, where we were able to bring our team together to share more about our India Sovereign Cloud, new India region, and our INR 200 crore investment in India. While Civo has attended KubeCon over the past ten years in North America and Europe, the community experience in India was incredible to see. The Civo booth was constantly busy as we were giving live demos of our new region allowing attendees to get a glimpse of the capabilities of Civo.
Building on the momentum of KubeCon India 2024, the 2025 edition further emphasized the growing importance of AI, with six keynote sessions dedicated to the topic. This focus stems from the AI market’s rapid growth, which has tripled in size over the past two years and is expected to contribute around $400 billion to the economy by 2030. As the Indian cloud community navigates this AI-driven landscape, events like KubeCon India are crucial for sharing knowledge, best practices, and innovations, ensuring that individuals and organizations are equipped to adapt to the changing landscape and capitalize on the opportunities it presents.
How to get involved in tech events in India?
With the Indian tech scene growing with events like KubeCon India, the next step is to get involved. So, how do you get started? The simplest way to get involved with tech events in India is to sign up and attend them! However, with so many options available, choosing the right event can be challenging. That's why we're excited to announce Civo Navigate India, a tech event designed to tackle the current industry problems and provide insights on how to navigate the cloud-native landscape securely.
Civo Navigate India 2025: Bengaluru showed up
Building on the success of Civo Navigate in North America and Europe, Civo Navigate India: Sovereignty and AI Edition made its debut on 18th November 2025 at the Four Seasons Hotel, Bengaluru - and it became our biggest Navigate event yet, with more than 1,600 registrations.
The day opened with a keynote from Civo CEO Mark Boost, joined by the Civo leadership team and a familiar face in the community, former Field CTO Kunal Kushwaha. Mark spoke about removing the blurred lines between public and private cloud, giving organizations more control and clarity, and building infrastructure designed for speed and simplicity rather than legacy complexity.
"India's surging cloud market has a golden opportunity to forge a new path that puts users first, and we're thrilled to have the chance to offer our Indian customers cloud native technologies and help businesses in the region to build their technologies on a foundation of transparency and fairness."
Mark Boost, CEO of Civo
From there, the mainstage moved fast: Harsha Ram of Sify opened with a deep dive into AI-ready digital infrastructure, followed by a technical panel featuring Civo's Chief Innovation Officer Josh Mesout alongside leaders from Planetcast Media, HackerEarth, and SarthiAI unpacking multimodal systems, open-source frameworks, and the rising demands of high-performance computing. Amanda Brock of OpenUK examined the global state of open AI, and Kunal Kushwaha returned to the stage for a panel on digital sovereignty with voices from FOSS United, PwC, and Canarys Automations.
"It was great to see Civo bringing their flagship conference to India for the first time, with a focus on cloud innovation, AI, and data sovereignty. The networking opportunities were fantastic, and I enjoyed connecting with fellow tech enthusiasts and industry professionals throughout the day."
Aditya Banerjee, attendee of Civo Navigate India 2025
Away from the mainstage, the Product Briefing Room gave attendees hands-on time with Civo AI, Civo Public Cloud, and Private Cloud, while Platinum Sponsor Sify Technologies and community partners including AICamp, Girls Leading Tech, WeMakeDevs, and Kubernetes Community Days helped turn a one-day conference into a genuine community moment.
"Civo is truly driving innovation by bringing Cloud and AI together in a powerful way. One of the standout highlights was their ability to help organizations move from private to public cloud (and vice versa) without redesigning the entire infrastructure - an impressive and practical capability."
Mushtaq Ahmed, attendee of Civo Navigate India 2025
Want the full play-by-play? Read our complete Civo Navigate India 2025 wrap-up for the full keynote breakdowns, panel highlights, and photos from the day.
Save the date: Civo Navigate India 2026
One sold-out year in, and we're already building the bigger edition. Civo Navigate India: Sovereignty and AI Edition returns on Tuesday, 24th November 2026, this time at the Sheraton Grand Bengaluru Whitefield Hotel & Convention Center - a purpose-built 65,000 sq ft venue ready for a bigger, deeper programme.
2025 proved the appetite is real. 2026 is where we go further: more sessions on the things India's AI and cloud-native builders are actually wrestling with, from GPU scheduling in Kubernetes to MLOps at scale, sovereign AI deployment, and the realities of running LLMs in production - alongside the strategic conversations on digital sovereignty that defined last year's event.
Civo Navigate: Sovereignty and AI Edition is the definitive event for leaders and builders navigating the next era of cloud technology. Join top minds from across the industry to explore transformative ideas, cutting-edge tools, and real-world solutions, and connect with the community shaping where India's cloud and AI conversation goes next.
Join us at Civo Navigate India
Civo Navigate: Sovereignty and AI Edition is the definitive event for leaders and builders navigating the next era of cloud technology. Join top minds from across the industry to explore transformative ideas, cutting-edge tools, and real-world solutions.
The growth of AI has brought with it a connected concern surrounding the security of data, making it essential to prioritize security alongside innovation. At Civo Navigate India, we believe that educating the industry on AI must be done with proper consideration for security, and we're committed to providing a platform for experts to share their insights and best practices on this critical topic.
If you are interested in learning more about the importance of data sovereignty, check out some of these resources:
- Is Your Data Truly Yours? Why Data Sovereignty in India Matters More Than Ever
- Civo’s INR 200 Crore Investment into the Indian Tech Market
- A New Era of Cooperation: How the UK-India Free Trade Deal Can Benefit India's Digital Economy
Summary
As India's public cloud market continues to grow, the country is witnessing a surge in tech events that bring together industry experts and innovators. Events like KubeCon India and Civo Navigate India are playing a crucial role in shaping the future of cloud-native computing and AI. With a focus on security, sovereignty, and innovation, these events provide a platform for knowledge sharing and collaboration.
Civo Navigate India 2025 set the bar in Bengaluru, selling out with 1,600+ registrants and conversations that are still shaping the community months later. Now, the run-up to Civo Navigate India 2026 is underway, and it's set to be bigger again - a larger venue, a deeper programme, and the same focus on the conversations that matter most to India's cloud and AI builders.
Chief Commercial Officer at Civo
Simon Hansford is Chief Commercial Officer at Civo, where he leads the company’s global commercial strategy, including sales, marketing, and go-to-market initiatives. His work focuses on expanding customer relationships and driving growth across the cloud platform.
Simon has extensive experience founding and scaling technology businesses across cloud, SaaS, and managed IT services. He has worked closely with boards, investors, and leadership teams to deliver international expansion strategies and successful growth initiatives.
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