DNA Over Data Centers: Why BioCompute's Founder Left Bengaluru For San Francisco

A 22-year-old built a working DNA storage lab in India. Two years later, she shut it down and moved to San Francisco.

In 2024, Anagha Rajesh started a company called BioCompute. Her big idea: store data inside DNA instead of using power-hungry computers. In 2026, she closed her lab in Bengaluru and moved the whole company to the US.

What Is BioCompute?

DNA can hold huge amounts of information in a tiny space, and it lasts for centuries. Hard drives, in comparison, wear out in about ten years.

• Wants to replace computer storage with DNA storage
• Uses much less space and much less power
• Long-term goal: use biology to also process data, not just store it

What She Built in India

• Built a lab and a team from zero
• Ran thousands of experiments
• Made a working prototype
• Says she cut the storage cost from ₹3,50,000 per MB to ₹100 per MB (her own claim, not proven yet)
• Raised over ₹5 crore from investors
• Got a ₹31.4 lakh government-linked climate grant

Why She Left India

• Not about talent — she says India has smart, skilled people
• It's about risk-taking — she feels Indian investors avoid big, risky bets
• Needs more money now — building real chips costs much more than building a prototype
• US investors moved faster — she felt they cared more about helping her build, not just about quick profit
• Wants to compete with big players like IBM — and says that needs bigger, bolder funding

The Hard Part of Leaving

• Shut down the entire Bengaluru office
• Had to say goodbye to her team
• Called it one of the hardest moments of her career
• Sold the lab's furniture and equipment on LinkedIn

Not Just One Founder's Story

• 100+ Indian AI founders have moved to the US, or plan to
• They go for better funding, customers, and support systems
• San Francisco has the world's biggest cluster of deep-tech investors so this is really "India vs. Silicon Valley," not "India vs. the whole US"

Why It Matters

• Indian investors are often seen as favoring safe bets like apps and fintech
• Hardware and deep tech need patient, long-term money which is still rare in India
• BioCompute did get early funding in India the real gap is bigger, later-stage funding
• Raises a tough question: is India helping founders start here, only to lose them once they're ready to grow?

What's Still Unclear

• Her cost numbers are self-reported, not checked by outside experts
• DNA storage still has real problems: it's slow, error-prone, and not yet made at large scale anywhere
• Moving to the US doesn't fix the science it just brings in different funders
• Other Indian founders in similar fields have chosen to stay and build in India

The Bigger Picture

If more top founders leave right after proving their idea, India may keep missing out on the value, jobs, and technology that come later. The real gap isn't ambition it's late-stage funding for hardware. That's a smaller problem to fix, if India's investors take the hint.