Kavin Bharti Mittal

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Kavin Bharti Mittal
Kavin Bharti Mittal at Rise Conference 2016.jpg
Mittal in 2016
Born (1987-08-30) 30 August 1987 (age 38)
Delhi, India
Alma mater
OccupationsFounder and CEO of Hike Messenger
Known forHike
Parents
Website www.hike.in

Kavin Bharti Mittal (born 30 August 1987) is an Indian internet entrepreneur [1] known for founding Hike, a technology company that developed Hike Messenger [2] and the Rush Gaming Universe, and operated from 2012 until its closure in 2025. [3]

Contents

Early life

Mittal was born on 30 August 1987 in Delhi, India to parents Sunil Mittal, an industrialist, and Nyna Mittal. He earned a bachelor's degree in electronics and electrical engineering from the University of York, followed by a master's in electrical and electronics engineering and management from Imperial College London. [4] During his studies at Imperial College London, he completed internships at McLaren Racing, Google and Goldman Sachs. At McLaren Racing, he contributed to a technology project involving the integration of track flag indicators into Formula1 steering wheel displays. [5] [4]

Career

After returning to India, Mittal founded Hike in 2012, a technology company that developed digital communication and entertainment products. [6] Under his leadership, the company launched Hike Messenger, an instant messaging application for the Indian market. Between 2012 and 2018, the service evolved into a broader messaging-centered application. [7]

In August 2016, following a funding round led by Tencent, Hike was valued at over USD 1 billion, making it one of India’s unicorn startups. [8] By 2018, the company reported more than 30 million monthly active users and had raised over USD 250 million from investors including Tiger Global, Tencent, SoftBank and Foxconn. [9] [10] [8] At its peak, Hike was estimated to have reached a valuation of more than US$1.4 billion. [8]

In 2019, Hike officially shut down its messaging service, with Mittal citing changes in user behavior and increased competition from global platforms. [11] [12]

Mittal subsequently repositioned the company toward the gaming sector and launched Rush Gaming Universe, a mobile gaming platform. In August 2021, the company announced an undisclosed funding round led by Tinder co-founder Justin Mateen, [13] with participation from SoftBank Vision Fund CEO Rajeev Misra, Tinder co-founder Sean Rad, Flipkart co-founder Binny Bansal, CRED founder Kunal Shah, and others. [13]

Rush later expanded into social and real-money gaming services, attracting a large user base and reporting platform revenue of approximately US$500 million. [14]

In February 2022, Mittal announced additional investment and partnerships related to its gaming initiatives from Polygon and also confirmed rumored plans to enter blockchain gaming. [15] In May 2022, Mittal announced another undisclosed round of funding from Jump Capital, Tribe Capital, and Republic Crypto. [16] In 2024, WinZo - a one-time partner of Hike- alleged that Hike had violated its intellectual property and copied its app. [17] WinZO has approached the Delhi High Court, which referred the matter to arbitration. [18]

Regulatory challenges

In 2025, regulatory changes by the Indian government affecting real-money gaming (RMG) platforms significantly impacted business models based on cash-based gameplay. [19] These developments made Hike’s RMG operations in India commercially unviable. In September 2025, Hike ceased operations after approximately 13 years in business, including the closure of its US business. Mittal subsequently announced the complete shutdown of the company. [20]

Public profile

Mittal appeared in a Forbes 30 Under 30 list in 2017. [21] Mittal was also a part of 35 under 35 Entrepreneur magazine 2016 list. [22]

References

  1. ↑ "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.
  2. ↑ 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)
  3. ↑ "'Closing a chapter, opening a New One': Kavin Mittal confirms global shutdown of Hike". The Times of India . 14 September 2025.
  4. 1 2 Ghosh, Shauvik (7 March 2013). "The defining moment: Kavin Bharti Mittal". mint. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
  5. ↑ "10 next-generation business tycoons: Meet the kids of India's richest people". GQ India. 29 January 2020. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
  6. ↑ "Hike Instant Messenger App Crosses 20 Million Users Mark". www.gizbot.com/. 16 June 2014. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
  7. ↑ "Hike Founder Reveals Why The Instant Messaging App Failed: 'We Shut it Down...'". www.ndtv.com. 19 August 2025. Retrieved 11 February 2026.
  8. 1 2 3 Russell, Jon (16 August 2016). "India's WhatsApp rival Hike raises $175M led by Tencent at a $1.4B valuation". TechCrunch.
  9. ↑ Singh, S. Ronendra (16 August 2016). "Hike raises $175 million from Tencent, Foxconn". @businessline. Retrieved 2021-11-15.
  10. ↑ "Hike Messenger raises $175 mn from investors led by Tencent". The Hindu. 2016-08-17. ISSN   0971-751X . Retrieved 2021-11-15.
  11. ↑ Thomas, Ayushi Kar | Thomas K. (6 November 2020). "Super apps won't work in India: Kavin Bharti Mittal". @businessline. Retrieved 2021-11-15.
  12. ↑ Sharma, Nishant. "Hike's Kavin Mittal On Why The Super App Model Won't Work In India". BloombergQuint. Retrieved 2021-11-15.[ dead link ]
  13. 1 2 "Hike secures new funds from Tinder cofounder Justin Mateen, others". The Economic Times. Retrieved 2021-11-15.
  14. ↑ Singh, Jagmeet (2025-09-13). "Hike, once a unicorn, shuts down as India cracks down on real-money gaming". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2026-02-10.
  15. ↑ "Polygon invests in Hike's Rush Gaming Universe; aims to bring it onto Web 3". VCCircle. 2022-01-27. Retrieved 2022-05-12.
  16. ↑ "Hike raises fresh capital for second time in 3 months". VCCircle. Retrieved 2026-02-10.
  17. ↑ "New twist in WinZO-Hike gaming war". The Economic Times. ISSN   0013-0389 . Retrieved 2024-06-25.
  18. ↑ 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.
  19. ↑ "Why enforcing Centre's ban on online money games is easier said than done". The Indian Express. 2025-08-24. Retrieved 2026-02-10.
  20. ↑ "'I've made the difficult decision to…,' Kavin Bharti Mittal announces shut down of Hike following India's real-money gaming ban". FE Tech Bytes. 2025-09-13. Retrieved 2026-02-10.
  21. ↑ Wang, Yue. "Kavin Bharti Mittal, 29 – pg.1". Forbes. Retrieved 2018-03-19.
  22. ↑ Sabharwal, Punita (2017-02-28). "Meet the Zen Billionaire of India – Kavin Bharti Mittal". Entrepreneur. Retrieved 2017-11-29.
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