BioCompute founder reveals why they are moving from Bengaluru to US: “Indian money is short of money…” | Today’s news
A businesswoman is closing the doors of her company in India to move operations to the US. Bengaluru-based Anagha Rajesh, who founded BioCompute, revealed why she had to make a tough decision while working on what could be the future of data storage.
BioCompute to move out of Bengaluru
BioCompute is a deep technology startup. Brainchild of Anagha Rajesh, the company is focused on building a new way to store data using DNA, doing away with traditional computer hardware. According to the company, they aim to transform data storage into something sustainable and compact with the help of DNA for large amounts of information.
Simply put, BioCompute aims to use biological systems to store vast amounts of digital information in a very small space.
The founder started her company in 2024 with an aim to transform data storage and computing infrastructure in India and beyond. Over the past two years, the 24-year-old founder has raised more than ₹5 million from investors like WTF Fund, Grad Capital and 1517 Fund.
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Why is he leaving India
In a blog post, Anagha Rajesh said, “We are the first lab in India to tackle the bold challenge of DNA data storage and have leveraged resources in India over the last 2 years to complete the prototype.”
However, he feels that since he wants to do more, India may not be the right place right now.
Anagha added that BioCompute has become the first lab in India to explore DNA data storage at scale. Although Indian resources helped them reach the prototype stage, Rajesh believes San Francisco would be better for their next stage.
USA vs India
In an interview with Vyom Bhatia, Anagha Rajesh revealed why she is moving out of India. She explained that “people there understood what I was doing”. According to her, people in the US understood her long-term vision. She also said that she wants to overcome the problems in Bengaluru rather than struggling with revenue.
“They (the people in San Francisco) weren’t so much interested in revenue. They were more interested in what I was going to need to keep it going,” explained the founder.
In her blog post, she emphasized that the Indian ecosystem may not be the right place for her product.
“While India is now starting to invest in deep technology through the RDI fund and the like, we don’t think the ecosystem is ready for a product like ours.
“India often likes to play it safe, looking at what has been built in the West and adapting it to our socio-cultural and economic environment. But what we need to build a new-age storage hardware company and take on Goliaths like IBM is an ecosystem that is built on abundance and accepts high-risk, high-reward bets,” the young entrepreneur wrote.
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Talent and money
Vyom Bhatia shared this story and said that while India has talent, it lacks capital for ambitious deep tech projects.
“India doesn’t lack money, it lacks awareness.”
“In one of the many conversations I had with her, this one stuck out to me: There are Indians in the U.S. that I know I’m going to hire. They don’t want to raise their kids there. They want to come home.”
“So it’s not even about talent. It’s about money. If there’s capital for people like Anagha, starting with Anagha, the dam will break,” Bhatia added.
Rajesh also pointed out that shutting down operations in Bengaluru meant letting go of her team, which she described as the toughest part of her journey so far.
“These are people who have spent most of their hours thinking, building, solving problems, and most of all enjoying the challenges that come with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to shape data infrastructure,” she wrote.
On LinkedIn, the founder posted her office furniture, equipment and chemicals for sale.
On what’s next, Anagha added, “It’s an exciting (and nerve-wracking) chapter ahead as I head out to San Francisco and build on the product development we’ve done over the past few years and bring our first chip to customers,” she wrote.
(Disclaimer: This report is based on user-generated content from social media. Live Mint could not independently verify the claims and does not endorse them.)
