‘There’s Money In India, But …’: Why A 24-Year-Old Deep-Tech Founder is Leaving Bengaluru for San Francisco

A Bengaluru-based deep-tech startup owner who initially wanted to grow her company in India is relocating to San Francisco, United States, citing a lack of capital and awareness. Anagha Rajesh, the founder of BioCompute, announced the decision to move the company as it prepares to develop its first DNA data storage chips.

Founded in 2024 by the 24-year-old entrepreneur, the startup is developing a new method to store digital data using DNA instead of traditional storage devices. The technology aims to make data storage significantly smaller, more efficient, and less energy-intensive. Through these innovations, BioCompute has driven the cost of storing data in DNA down from Rs 3,50,000 to just Rs 100 per MB.

From Prototype to Relocation: BioCompute's Journey

In the last two years, BioCompute built a research team, established a laboratory, conducted thousands of experiments, and created an end-to-end prototype. The company also raised more than Rs 5 crore from investors, including WTF Fund, Grad Capital, and 1517 Fund.

Despite these achievements, Rajesh believes the next stage of growth requires a different environment. She noted that San Francisco offers a stronger ecosystem for ambitious deep-tech projects and long-term innovation. According to Rajesh, people in the US understood her vision and focused on helping her achieve it rather than demanding immediate revenue.

“There’s Less Patience, Less Self-Belief”

In a video shared on Vyom Bhatia’s X account, Anagha explained that the Indian ecosystem is still not fully prepared for high-risk, high-reward ventures like hers.

“When I went to San Francisco, the people there got the point of what I was doing. They were not as concerned about revenue. They were more concerned about what I would need to follow this through because there’s a lot of money in India, but there’s less patience, and there’s less self-belief."

A part of the caption of the post read:

“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."

“We have Tonnes of Talent Here”

Since it was shared on the platform, the post has garnered significant traction, drawing widespread attention to the challenges faced by deep-tech innovators in India. Reacting to the development, one user commented, “Better if she leaves to US. Because of the eco system in US. 
If you find an investor in India, the e o system lacks her. She needs very good funding."

Another user wrote about a PhD student who is working on a research to detect the emotions of a person by their voice he wrote, “Totally agree that we have tonnes of talent here. Someone I know has been working on their phd. I can’t recall the topic, but it’s around detecting the emotion of a person by their voice. She’s already working with language datasets. Trying to source funding for a device.”
 

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