‘India Is Not Ready’: Bengaluru’s 24-Yr-Old Working On DNA Data Storage Shifts Her Startup To US

A Bengaluru-based deep-tech startup that could have made India a leading name for ‘DNA data storage’ in the coming years, is now moving to the US– and the reason is simply "heartbreaking". 24-year-old Anagha Rajesh was just 22 years old when she opened BioCompute, a Biotechnology company. The company had a simple but rather grand aim- to find a way of storing data using DNA, to ultimately ditch the traditional forms of data storage, which are way more expensive and space-consuming. However, as BioCompute turned two, Rajesh was left with no other option but to move the startup to San Francisco instead.As per Anagha, it’s not the shortage of money among Indians but rather the lack of “capital and awareness” that is driving away the startup that could turn revolutionary

in the future.“In 2024, I had a crazy dream. Make data storage and compute infrastructure as space and energy efficient as biological systems are. Step 1 being DNA data storage, and the final frontier is biological qubits at room temperature. That made the 22 year old me quiver with excitement, nervousness and some (steely) resolve. BioCompute was born,” Anagha’s blog read.Anagha recalled how in the last two years, she and her team worked hard for achieving all that they have achieved so far. The startup even raised money and was able to set up a lab. From running “thousands of iterations” to building a “prototype”, the last two years were full of breakthroughs.“Over the last two years, I put together an incredible team, raised money, set up our own lab, ran thousands of iterations, built a prototype, partnered with great collaborators, and proved that we can encode data into DNA at costs that are several orders of magnitude lower than the leading players in the space, and that customers are excited about what we are building. 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, as the startup is all set to move to its next stage, Anagha ultimately realised that India is still not ready for such a product.“As we start assembling the V1 of BioCompute chips, we are relocating to San Francisco to leverage the capital, talent and customer risk appetite of the world’s startup capital. 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,” her blog continued.With no option left, Anagha is getting ready to leave. However, apart from the move being a difficult decision, the other factor that is seemingly pinching her the most is the fact that she is letting go of her team.“That unfortunately means having to let go of our most valuable asset, the team here in Bangalore. 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. Their exit interviews were perhaps the hardest conversations of my life. I needed to call up three of my best friends for reassurance the night before I let the cat out of the bag,” the blog read.

As soon as Anagha’s startup story came forward, it started going viral. The Internet expressed heavy support and highlighted the importance that the startup can hold in the coming years.“Good luck Anagha!! I had heard of this technology way back when I was an engineer myself. Never thought I'd be seeing it executed in real time,” a user said. “Wish BioCompute the best of times ahead!” added another.