In early 2025, Indian tech and startup media lit up with one post. An Indian entrepreneur, Aniruddha Anjana, revealed why he left the United States after 10 years abroad and returned to India. The reason was unexpected. It was not visa trouble, layoffs, or diminished job offers. It was his aging parents. And that confession resonated deeply.
Aniruddha Anjana is the co-founder & CEO of ArcAligned, a firm working in Building Information Modeling (BIM) and virtual design. Before founding the business, he lived and worked in the US for about a decade. Over time, he felt himself slipping into a “corporate trap.” He described daily routines that numbed his spirit.
As he explained, “I left the US after working there for 10 years because I saw the rabbit hole I was getting sucked into the infamous corporate trap. I was turning into a robot, and I didn’t want that life.” He added: “This was the only reason I came back, and after a year, I can confidently say it was the best decision of my life. I have definitely added years to their lives, and to mine.”
When the post surfaced, reactions poured in. Some praised the courage. Others related. The post drew views in the hundreds of thousands and was covered by major news outlets like Times of India. It generated discussions about priorities, the cost of success, and the hidden emotional toll of working abroad.
Unlike typical success stories about scaling startups or raising funding, this was a reversal narrative. It was about reverse migration, entrepreneur lifestyle changes, and founder mental health. It reminded many in the Indian diaspora that success is not only in wealth or titles. It also lies in closeness, in time spent, in reclaiming identity.
He emphasized that his return had nothing to do with weakening job opportunities or visas. “When I last posted about returning to India after living in the U.S. for over 10 years because my parents needed me, I received many comments assuming that I must have lost my job or faced visa issues.”
After returning to India, Aniruddha expanded ArcAligned’s operations locally. He moved with his wife and kids in search of a balance between his personal priorities and his career goals. He considered how India’s startup ecosystem was evolving, with homegrown tech innovation gaining strength.
By returning, he also bet on reverse brain drain. The idea is that talent abroad can now find opportunity back home. He believed that India’s tech landscape, with its rising startups, growing infrastructure, and supportive government policies, could match ambition with meaning.
Not all applause comes free. Returning to India, according to a few critics, restricts size or global potential. Others believe that the story romanticizes shame and sacrifice. Will ambitious founders be supported by the local system, skeptics wonder? Will finance, regulations, and infrastructure be able to keep up with the competition from around the world? These worries are legitimate. But Aniruddha’s story is about harmonizing ambition with soul, not against it.
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