The founder and CEO of MapmyGenome talks about building a presence in North America, dealing with private and sensitive data, and how growth has kept her busy.

The Enercare Centre in Toronto, Canada, was the unlikeliest of places to catch up with Anu Acharya, founder and CEO of the Hyderabad-based personal genomics firm MapmyGenome. But given that we were both attending a tech event, Collision Conference 2022, there in June, it seemed ideal.

MapmyGenome offers personalised health solutions based on genetic tests and combines a person’s genetic health profile and medical records with genetic counselling. “In India, we typically go to a doctor when we are ill. But what if we can address the problem at the root and look at it from a preventive point of view? That’s the idea behind starting with the genome (the entire set of DNA instructions found in a cell),” Acharya explains. The company provides solutions like Genomepatri (similar to a Janampatri, or birth chart, of an individual), MyFitGene, Medicamap, and Cardiomap.