Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw

This rejected brewmaster turned a $500 garage startup into a unicorn.

In 1978, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw founded Biocon in her garage.

Today, it’s one of Asia’s largest biopharmaceutical companies, tackling diseases like cancer, diabetes, and autoimmune disorders… all while producing life-saving insulin at a fraction of global costs.

But it wasn’t supposed to be this way.

Kiran wanted to be a brewmaster like her father, but breweries in India wouldn’t hire her because, as they said, “it’s a man’s job.”

So, when she met an Irish entrepreneur looking to start a biotech business in India, she took the leap.

She had no lab, no infrastructure, and a society skeptical of women in science.

Her first employee? A retired garage mechanic.

Her breakthrough came when she landed funding after a chance meeting with a banker.

Within a year, Biocon became the first Indian company to export enzymes to the U.S. and Europe.

By 2004, Biocon’s IPO was oversubscribed 33 times, making it India’s first billion-dollar biotech firm.

Kiran’s mission? Affordable innovation.

She revolutionized how drugs are made and priced, ensuring access to life-saving treatments in low-income countries.

She’s also the first Indian woman to sign the Giving Pledge, committing half her wealth to philanthropy.