She specialises in medical robotics. And laughs in agreement that it’s something that puzzles the less scientific mind. Deepthi Anand is a robotics expert and an entrepreneurial powerhouse who has taken her learning to create a body of work that aspires to create wellness and healthy living. At just 26, she started her own company and since then, has only been bitten by the entrepreneurial bug, again and again. The precision of robotics and learning are her forte, “My education is specialised in medical robotics — which basically looks at innovative ways of using robots for surgery or rehabilitation,” explains Deepthi, who was chosen among 200 shortlisted from all over the globe to present a paper at the prestigious IEEE-EMBS International Conference on Biomedical Engineering at the age of 21. And she was the youngest!
Her work involved medical imaging while in Manipal Institute of Technology, where she was pursuing undergrad degree in biomedical engineering. But that’s not all keeping Deepthi busy — even as she juggles her home, her nine-year-old son Sachit and life with her techie husband, Deepthi finds the time to scour through papers, research material and come up with state-of-the-art ideas that create a wellness universe.
The lady who founded her first company — HealthE India which looked at low cost telemedicine at the age of 26, later merged it with her next entrepreneurial vision — Asiatic Clinical Research — which she co-founded at 27 with entrepreneurs and medical specialists. Having a Masters degree in biomedical engineering with super specialisation in medical robotics from New Jersey in the US, she had earlier taken on new drug development and worked on connecting primary care to tertiary care as part of her skill set.
Today, Deepthi is busy innovating, as she is trying to bring about products that help humans live healthy, even before illness strikes. Her latest entrepreneurial venture Valencia Nutrition is extremely close to that objective too. As CEO, she has launched its first product, a multi-flavoured multi-nutrient low calorie water — which leaves us with many questions in our minds — Why would one need a low calorie water. Isn’t water no calories anyway?” We ask and she laughs, explaining, “The typical Indian consumer does not realise that he is missing out on various nutrients — Vitamin D, iron, folic acid, fibre and we have taken herbal extracts, to create a kind of wellness product that has antioxidants thrice of what is available in green tea and the idea is to sell a healthy refreshment instead of the sodas and sugar-high drinks that people are consuming, so it is this water that also imparts its own nutritious element. The idea is to look at wellness, fitness and disease management and create products that are alternative health beverages, that help in rehydration etc.
Why can’t people have a healthy drinking option, which is water, but also packs in the nutrients we might not be getting with our day-to-day eating habits?” she questions. On the face of it, it does sound ideal, but how well it works remains to be seen, though Deepthi is happy with the response its getting in the south markets, before turning her attention northwards.
Deepthi and her family members love the outdoors, so there’s enough travelling around the countryside for them. And she is now looking forward to visiting her favourite city, London. One thing that keeps her motivated is her absolute love for books, especially autobiographies, “I loved Richard Brandson’s life story and also Steve Jobs autobiography. And I am a great fan of Bill Gates,” says the lady who’s robotic expertise is at the helm of her ventures.
Right now, her mind and body is in the lab as she works on creating new products internationally and nationally. “I am an idealist and through the years, this has combined with a passion for technology and products focused on health, so I’ve become more consumer driven and that is a major learning curve. Understanding health as we know it and creating a space for it to enrich itself is what keeps me motivated,” ends the lady who took one look at robotics and decided that this was it.
