Ratan Tata, Rajan Anandan invests in cannabis research firm Boheco

The startup is primarily using the seed funding to hire scientists from India as well as abroad for further research

Bombay Hemp Company (Boheco), India's first startup studying the medical use of cannabis, has raised a seed round of Rs 6.25 crore from marquee investors including the chairman emeritus of Tata Sons, Ratan Tata and Google India's managing director Rajan Anandan.

The startup in partnership with the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) plans to grow cannabis and study its medicinal properties for use in the treatment of epilepsy, breast cancer and palliative care. According to a report in The Economic Times, the seed funding is primarily being used to hire scientists from India as well as abroad for further research. 

The first product will be for palliative care.

Pandya, along with his six college friends started Boheco in 2013 as an industrial hemp startup selling products from clothing to nutritional seeds. Presently, the company supplies hemp fabric to textile businesses and sells its products online. Reportedly, Boheco became one of the only Asian startups to be invited to join the Singularity University Accelerator in California for its research in creating nano carbons from hemp fibre.

 
The startup has seen active interest from the state governments of Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh among other states for cannabis cultivation permit.
 

In September, Boheco founders had discussed their journey and company's future with Business Standard. Read the full article here.