BioCompute founder reveals why they are relocating to US from Bengaluru: ‘India ke paas paise ki kummi nahi hai…'

An entrepreneur is shutting the doors of her company in India to shift operations to the US. Bengaluru-based Anagha Rajesh, who founded BioCompute, revealed why she had to make the hard decision while working on something that can become the future of data storage.

BioCompute to move out of Bengaluru

BioCompute is a deep-tech startup. Brainchild of Anagha Rajesh, the company is focused on building a new way to store data using DNA, ditching the traditional computer hardware. As per the company, they aim to transform data storage into something sustainable and compact with the help of DNA for a large amount of information.

In simple terms, 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 of changing the data storage and computing infrastructure in India and beyond. In the last two years, the 24-year-old founder raised more than ₹5 crore from investors like WTF Fund, Grad Capital and 1517 Fund.

Why it is leaving India

Talking about the company, Anagha Rajesh said in her blog post, “We are the first lab in India to go after the audacious problem of DNA data storage, and have leveraged the resources in India over the last 2 years to get to an end to end prototype."

However, she feels that since she wants to do more, India might not be the right place to be right now.

Anagha added that BioCompute became the first lab in India to explore DNA data storage on a large scale. Although India's resources helped them to hit the prototype stage, Rajesh believes San Francisco would be better for their next phase.

US vs India

Talking to Vyom Bhatia, Anagha Rajesh revealed why she is moving out of India. She explained that “people there got the point of what I was doing”. As per her, people in the US could understand her long-term vision. She also said that she wants to get over challenges in Bengaluru rather than struggling with revenue.

“They [the people in San Francisco] were not as concerned about revenue. They were more concerned about what I would need to follow this through,” the founder explained.

In her blog post, she emphasised how the Indian ecosystem might not be the right place for her product.

“While India is now starting to invest in deep tech through RDI fund and the likes, we don’t think the ecosystem is ready for a product like ours.

“India often likes to play safe, looking at what has been built in the West and adapting it to our socio-cultural and economic landscape. But what we need to build a new age data storage hardware company, and take on Goliaths like IBM, is an ecosystem that is built on abundance and takes high-risk-high-reward bets,” the young entrepreneur wrote.

Talent and money

Sharing the story, Vyom Bhatia said that while India has talent, it lacks capital for ambitious deep-tech ventures.

“India ke paas paise ki kummi nahi hai. Awareness ki hai."

“In one of the many conversations I have had with her, this one stuck with me: There are Indians in the US who I know I will be hiring. They don't want to raise their kids there. They want to come home.

“So this isn't about talent either. 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 ending Bengaluru operations meant letting go of her team, which she called the hardest part of her journey so far.

“These are folks who have spent most of their waking hours thinking, building, troubleshooting and most importantly enjoying the challenges that come with having a once in a lifetime opportunity to shape data infrastructure,” she wrote.

On LinkedIn, the founder had posted her office furniture, equipment and chemicals for sale.

Anagha added about what's next: “It’s an exciting (and nerve-wrecking) chapter ahead as I head out to San Francisco and build on the product development we have done in the last few years, and take 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.)