As Outer Ring Road Crumbles, Startups Shift Focus To North Bengaluru, Whitefield

Last Updated:October 02, 2025, 23:04 IST

Many are looking at Whitefield, now connected by the Purple Line metro, and North Bengaluru, which offers proximity to Kempegowda International Airport

Traffic congestion on the Outer Ring Road, in Bengaluru. (PTI file photo)

A worsening stretch of Bengaluru’s Outer Ring Road (ORR) is pushing several startups and firms to consider relocating to better-connected areas such as North Bengaluru and Whitefield.

Among the first to announce a move is logistics platform BlackBuck. Its CEO, Rajesh Yabaji, said in a social media post on September 16 that the company was exiting the ORR corridor due to poor infrastructure.

“ORR (Bellandur) has been our “office + home” for the last 9 years. But it’s now very-very hard to continue here. We have decided to move out,” Yabaji had wrote.

Giving background on the decision, he said the average one-way commute for his colleagues had risen to over 1.5 hours. He also pointed out that the roads were filled with potholes and dust, with little intention shown to fix them. “Didn’t see any of this changing in the next 5 years,” he added.

The post triggered widespread discussion, even drawing an open invitation from Andhra Pradesh IT minister Nara Lokesh to move operations to Visakhapatnam.

Yabaji later clarified that BlackBuck would stay in Bengaluru but shift to areas “that facilitate an easy commute for employees.”

According to sources, the company plans to divide its operations between Whitefield and Koramangala, Moneycontrol reported.

Other companies based along the heavily congested Central Silk Board–KR Puram stretch of ORR are said to be considering similar moves. Many are looking at Whitefield, now connected by the Purple Line metro, and North Bengaluru, which offers proximity to Kempegowda International Airport and growing infrastructure.

North Bengaluru is quickly emerging as a preferred tech and business hub. Companies like Infosys and Collins Aerospace have set up in Northgate Business Park, Amazon operates from Sattva Horizon, and Philips is based at Embassy Business Hub. SAP Labs recently opened its second campus near the airport, and Boeing launched a major engineering centre there earlier this year. TCS is also expanding in the region with a new campus at Sattva Knowledge Point.

“Companies are increasingly favouring North Bengaluru due to the airport expansion, Metro connectivity, and the presence of large Grade-A office projects,” real estate analyst Siddharth Agarwal told Moneycontrol.

“In contrast, the saturated ORR belt faces rising congestion, space constraints, and escalating costs. Office spaces there cost 20-25 percent more than in North Bengaluru, making North Bengaluru a more sustainable choice,” Agarwal added.

While ORR remains a key IT corridor — contributing 32% of the city’s IT revenue, or about $22 billion, according to ORRCA — the area suffers from narrow roads, worsening traffic, water shortages, and flooding during rains, all of which are prompting firms to look elsewhere.

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