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India's home grown version of a messaging app called hike, launched in December 2012, has received a second round of funding of $14 million (around ₹83.7 crore) from Bharti Soft Bank to further fuel it's growth.
Bharti Soft Bank is a joint venture between leading business group Bharti Enterprises and telecommunications company Bharti Airtel and SoftBank, which is an internet company that aims to provide a range of mobile services.
hike, an instant messaging platform which is run by Kavin Bharti Mittal, son of Bharti Group Chairman Sunil Mittal, had received $7 million (around ₹41.8 crore) in its initial round of funding a year ago, around April 2013.
On its website, hike claims to have gone from 5 to 15 million users in just nine months. With over 80 per cent of the app’s users under the age of 25 and a majority of its users from India, hike says it’s available globally on iOS, Android, Blackberry, Windows Phone, S40 & S60.
The second round of funding would help the company double down on growth, and expand its team. The company says it wants to exit 2014 as the number one messaging platform for the youth.
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