Founder says moving company to Bengaluru increased its valuation by 50%

The founder of a strategy consulting firm has claimed that she convinced a client to move their headquarters from Kolkata to Bengaluru.

Published on: Mar 2, 2025, 08:55:07 IST

By Sanya Jain

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The founder of a strategy consulting firm has claimed that she convinced a client to move their headquarters from Kolkata to Bengaluru - a decision that increased the company’s valuation by 50%. Piyu Dutta, the London-based founder of Anthropia, said that her client’s Kolkata address was affecting the firm’s valuation.

Bengaluru is generally acknowledged as the startup hub of India. (Picture for representational purposes only) (Unsplash)

HT.com has not independently verified the authenticity of this information.

Bengaluru, often dubbed the "Silicon Valley of India," has cemented its status as the nation's leading technology and startup ecosystem. It is the city that gave rise to success stories like Flipkart and Myntra. According to Asian Times, Bengaluru has over 67,000 registered IT companies and more than 7,500 startups.

From Kolkata to Bengaluru

“Convinced a client to move HO to Bangalore. Kolkata address was discounting the valuation by 50%,” Piyu Dutta claimed on X, adding: “It’s that wild.”

Her post highlighting the significance of corporate headquarters in company valuations has prompted a spirited discussion on the issue.

In the comments section of the post, many people said they were surprised to learn that a Kolkata address could affect a company’s perception and valuation. Others said that running a business in Kolkata could lead to massive savings as overhead costs are lower. However, many agreed with Dutta’s take.

“Yes, I know of a similar case. An acquaintance was creating a small boutique and was scouting for funds. She was repeatedly told, go to any other big state, we will fund you. But not if you locate in Kolkata/ WB....” X user Swagatam Sinha claimed in the comments section.

“Literal pincode difference.. should rename the firm after some arcane Tolkein-verse artifact, pepper their products with AI buzzwords. Voila, you get a 200% valuation spike. VCs throwing themselves at you,” another X user suggested.

Others raised doubts about the authenticity of Dutta’s claims, calling them “exaggerated.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sanya Jain
Sanya Jain is an Assistant Editor with Hindustan Times Digital. She has nearly a decade of experience in covering offbeat stories that speak to the everyday experience - from viral videos to human interest copies that spark conversation. Her interests stretch across business, pop culture, social media trends, entertainment and global affairs. Before joining Hindustan Times, Sanya spent two years with Moneycontrol and five years with NDTV. She holds an undergraduate degree in English literature from St Stephen’s College, Delhi, and a master’s in journalism from the Xavier Institute of Communications, Mumbai. Sanya has a sharp eye for spotting emerging trends and looking for newsworthy angles to elevate viral posts into meaningful narratives. She was the first one, for example, to cover Narayana Murthy’s remark on 70-hour work weeks that sparked a national conversation. She is equally at ease writing about business leaders as about the common man, about issues of national importance and memes that amuse social media. Sanya enjoys speaking with content creators, newsmakers and entrepreneurs to transform everyday moments into engaging, slice-of-life stories that resonate with readers. When she is not working, Sanya can be found curled up with a good book. Born and raised in Lucknow, she has spent the last several years in Delhi. She is deeply interested in animal welfare and now spends a lot of her time running after her destructive orange cat.Read More

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