After 13 years of operation, Kavin Bharti Mittal’s startup Hike has shut down completely, including its US business. The move follows India’s Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025, which imposed a blanket ban on all real-money gaming (RMG). The ban cut Hike’s financial runway from seven months to just four, making the business unsustainable.
The startup started in 2012 as Hike Messenger, positioned as a challenger to WhatsApp. At its peak, the app had 40 million monthly active users and became one of India’s most popular consumer brands.
Backed by global investors like Tiger Global, SoftBank, and Tencent, Hike reached unicorn status in 2016 with a $1.4 billion valuation. However, by 2021, the company pivoted away from messaging and launched Rush, a real-money gaming platform offering casual games such as carrom and ludo with cash prizes.
Rush quickly scaled to 10 million users and generated more than $500 million in gross revenue over four years. But the RMG ban, combined with heavy taxes and regulatory battles, forced the startup to reconsider its future.
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According to Mittal, Hike still has $4 million in reserves, which will be used to clear vendor dues and employee severance packages. Any surplus will be returned to investors. He also acknowledged the fatigue within his team after years of pivots and regulatory hurdles.
While Hike’s US gaming business showed early promise, Mittal said scaling globally would have required a complete recapitalization, something he felt was not the best use of resources. Instead, he signaled a shift toward AI, energy, and personal growth technologies for his next venture.
