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Kavin Bharti Mittal is an Indian internet entrepreneur and son of Business Tycoon Sunil Mittal.[1] He is known for his role as the founder and CEO of Hike, the company behind the unicorn Hike Messenger[2] and the Rush Gaming Universe (RGU), a mobile gaming application.
Kavin Bharti Mittal | |
|---|---|
 Mittal in 2016 | |
| Born | 30 August 1987 |
| Alma mater | |
| Occupation(s) | Founder and CEO of Hike Messenger |
| Known for | Hike |
| Father | Sunil Mittal |
| Website | www |
Early life
editMittal was born on 30 August 1987 in Delhi, India. He graduated in Electronics and Electrical Engineering from the University of York and completed his Master's in Electrical and Electronics Engineering and Management from the Imperial College London.[3] Kavin interned at McLaren Racing, Google and Goldman Sachs while studying at Imperial College London. At McLaren Racing, he helped the Formula1 team embed a technology that would show the track flags on steering wheels.[4][3]
Career
editAfter moving back to India, Mittal founded Hike in 2012 as an Indian internet company that developed social communication and entertainment products.[5] From 2012 to 2018, Hike built the Hike Messenger SuperApp centered around messaging to bring India, a mobile-first population, online. At its peak in 2018, Hike had reached more than 30 million monthly active users and had raised over $250 million in capital from investors such as Tiger Global, Tencent, SoftBank and Foxconn.[6][7][8]
In 2019, Hike decided to shut down the app [9][10] citing that the market dynamic had shifted with cheaper data coming in and smartphone prices dipping sharply. According to Mittal, the smartphone itself was now a SuperApp, undercutting the need for a SuperApp like Hike in the Indian market.[11][12]
After Hike's closure, Mittal pivoted the company to focus on building the Rush Gaming Universe, a mobile gaming application. In August 2021, they announced an undisclosed round of funding led by Tinder cofounder Justin Mateen.[13] The round also saw participation from SoftBank Vision Fund CEO Rajeev Misra, Tinder co-founder Sean Rad, Flipkart co-founder Binny Bansal, CRED founder Kunal Shah, and others.
In February 2022, Mittal announced that Polygon had joined Hike's list of investors and partners, with the Rush Gaming Universe confirming[14] its rumored plans for blockchain gaming. In May 2022, Mittal's Hike announced an undisclosed round of funding from web3 investors Jump Capital, Tribe Capital, and Republic Crypto, the blockchain investment arm of Republic Capital.[citation needed]. In 2024, WinZo - a one-time partner of Hike- alleged that Hike had violated its intellectual property and copied its app.[15] WinZO has approached the Delhi High Court, which referred the matter to arbitration.[16]
Public profile
editKavin Mittal was featured in the Forbes 30 Under 30 list in 2017.[17] Mittal was also a part of 35 under 35 Entrepreneur magazine 2016 list.[18]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Who is Kavin Mittal, the CEO of Hike and Sunil Bharti Mittal's son; Know about his career, lifestyle, and net worth". Financialexpress. 2023-11-01. Retrieved 2024-06-25.
- ^ Verma, Upasana Jain,Shrutika (2016-08-16). "Hike messaging app raises $175 million, joins unicorn club". mint. Retrieved 2022-05-12.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ a b Ghosh, Shauvik (7 March 2013). "The defining moment: Kavin Bharti Mittal". mint. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
- ^ "10 next-generation business tycoons: Meet the kids of India's richest people". GQ India. 29 January 2020. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
- ^ "Hike Instant Messenger App Crosses 20 Million Users Mark". www.gizbot.com/. 16 June 2014. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
- ^ Singh, S. Ronendra (16 August 2016). "Hike raises $175 million from Tencent, Foxconn". @businessline. Retrieved 2021-11-15.
- ^ "Hike Messenger raises $175 mn from investors led by Tencent". The Hindu. 2016-08-17. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2021-11-15.
- ^ "India's WhatsApp rival Hike raises $175M led by Tencent at a $1.4B valuation". TechCrunch. 16 August 2016. Retrieved 2021-11-15.
- ^ Mittal, Kavin Bharti (2019-09-23). "Future of Social – The Rise of Social Niches". Medium. Retrieved 2021-11-15.
- ^ Mittal, Kavin Bharti (2019-09-24). "2019: Multi-Apps > Super App". Medium. Retrieved 2021-11-15.
- ^ Thomas, Ayushi Kar | Thomas K. (6 November 2020). "Super apps won't work in India: Kavin Bharti Mittal". @businessline. Retrieved 2021-11-15.
- ^ Sharma, Nishant. "Hike's Kavin Mittal On Why The Super App Model Won't Work In India". BloombergQuint. Retrieved 2021-11-15.
- ^ "Hike secures new funds from Tinder cofounder Justin Mateen, others". The Economic Times. Retrieved 2021-11-15.
- ^ "Polygon invests in Hike's Rush Gaming Universe; aims to bring it onto Web 3". VCCircle. 2022-01-27. Retrieved 2022-05-12.
- ^ "New twist in WinZO-Hike gaming war". The Economic Times. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved 2024-06-25.
- ^ Toms, Manu P. "Gaming wars: WinZO takes Kavin Mittal's Hike to arbitration for IP breach, poaching". The Economic Times. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved 2024-06-25.
- ^ Wang, Yue. "Kavin Bharti Mittal, 29 – pg.1". Forbes. Retrieved 2018-03-19.
- ^ Sabharwal, Punita (2017-02-28). "Meet the Zen Billionaire of India – Kavin Bharti Mittal". Entrepreneur. Retrieved 2017-11-29.