‘Worst decision of my life’: Founder of Bihar-based semiconductor startup regrets, see why

Chandan Raj, the founder and CEO of Bihar’s first semiconductor company called Suresh Chips and Semiconductor Pvt Ltd, wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter) that it was the “worst decision” of his life to start a company in Bihar.

Calling Bihar, “the land of frustration”, Raj wrote that there are “lots of problems and struggle to survive here as a semiconductor/VLSI company”.

Very Large Scale Integration (VLSI) refers to the process of creating an integrated circuit by combining millions or in some cases billions of metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) transistors on a single chip.

Who is Chandan Raj?

The founder of the semiconductor startup graduated in 2009 with a bachelor’s degree in Electronics and Telecommunications from Odisha’s Biju Patnaik University of Technology (BPUT), according to his LinkedIn profile.

He then worked in engineering and management roles at various technology companies, including Samsung Electronics, Intel in Malaysia and Israel, Silicon Service SRL in Romania, and Nokia Bell Labs and NXP, both in Shanghai, after which he worked remotely as a consultant to AMD.

He then established Suresh Chips and Semiconductor in Muzaffarpur, Bihar in December 2020.

What were the problems that Chandan Raj faced when it came to running a semiconductor company in Bihar?

Raj wrote that he lost clients who refused to work with his company due to the lack of infrastructure in the area. He said he had been waiting for road and infrastructure for four years, but without help from anyone.

“I think the Bihar government does not understand the semiconductor industries,” he wrote.

He also added that the police would not help “when a local gangster threatens us”.

Responding to an X user who asked him to spell things out in detail, so that concerned authorities can find a way out, Raj replied that he had “sent many official emails and handwritten requests and went to almost every office of bureaucrats and politicians for basic infrastructure like road and street light,” and lamented “It’s useless to argue the truth about Bihar. Nothing will change here.”

However, things may be looking up for Chandan Raj soon. District Magistrate Muzaffarpur’s official account X replied to his message, saying that administrative approval had already been given for the construction of the road and it would begin immediately after Dussehra.