Hike, who once stood as India's beacon of innovation in the messaging app landscape, has closed its doors following the enactment of the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025. Initially launched in 2012 as a competitor to WhatsApp, Hike rapidly gained a user base of over 100 million, as it ambitiously sought to transform into a super app encompassing news, games, and social features.
In a strategic pivot three years ago, the company decided to shut down its messaging service, choosing instead to channel its efforts into the burgeoning world of mobile gaming and Web3 projects. Hike's most notable endeavor post-messaging was Rush, a gaming platform that aligned with this new direction. However, India’s recent legislative move to regulate real-money gaming organizations has delivered the definitive cessation of Hike's business model.
The Impact of New Regulations
The new gaming act was aimed at mitigating the potential harms associated with real-money gaming platforms. Faced with these fresh regulatory challenges, Kavin Bharti Mittal, Hike's founder, made the difficult decision to cease operations rather than continue under these new constraints.
In his reflections, Mittal observed that while Hike's U.S. business initiatives had shown promising beginnings, attempting to scale them globally would necessitate a major overhaul of their current business strategy. He candidly shared that such a venture would require a 'full recap and reset,' which he deemed neither efficient in terms of capital nor time—a sentiment he extended to his team and investors.
Mittal, after a 13-year journey of innovation and entrepreneurship, decided against pursuing further capital investment, signalling that the chapter of Hike was coming to an end.
Legacy and Lessons for Indian Startups
Despite its closure, Hike's legacy remains substantial. It serves as a poignant case study in the realms of ambition, technological adaptation, and the necessary navigation of regulatory landscapes that Indian startups must undertake. Hike's story is a testament to the bold attempts made by local startups to carve a niche in the competitive digital ecosystem, emphasizing the vital balance between aspiration and regulatory compliance.
As Hike exits the stage of digital innovation, it leaves behind valuable lessons about agility and the impacts of regulatory evolution, contributing to the ongoing narrative of India's burgeoning startup scene.
