Karnataka to host GAFX 2026 to showcase AI-led content creation

Karnataka's IT/BT department will host Bengaluru GAFX 2026, a three-day conference and exhibition on animation, visual effects, gaming, comics, extended reality (XR), and immersive content, in association with the Association of Bangalore Animation Industry (ABAI).

The seventh edition of the summit begins Friday in Bengaluru, bringing together creators, studios, technologists, investors, policymakers, and education leaders from India and abroad, said the IT/BT department in a statement.

"Bengaluru GAFX has emerged as one of the most important platforms for India's AVGC sector," IT/BT minister Priyank Kharge said in the statement. "Our focus is to move from being only a services powerhouse to becoming a global hub for original IP, next-generation storytelling and immersive innovation, built from Karnataka for the world."


Chief minister Siddaramaiah and deputy chief minister D K Shivakumar will inaugurate the summit. Actor, director, and producer Sudeepa Sanjeev and Rajan Navani, president of the Indian Digital Gaming Society (IDGS), will attend as special guests of honour.

The summit's theme, "Evolution Reloaded," marks the next phase of growth for the animation, visual effects, gaming, and comics (AVGC) industry, where human creativity converges with artificial intelligence (AI), real-time technologies, and immersive media, said the statement.

The Karnataka Intellectual Property (IP) Launch Showcase will serve as a platform to unveil homegrown ideas with global potential, highlighting how stories and characters created in the state can scale into global franchises across animation, gaming, comics, and immersive media.

The state's AVGC centre of excellence (CoE) has executed over 200 projects and supported more than 100 startups. With CoE 2.0, the state is expanding the ecosystem beyond Bengaluru into tier-two and tier-three cities, the statement said. It further added that GAFX 2026 will host more than 200 speakers across 100 sessions, masterclasses, and workshops over the three days.