Hike Messenger, India’s only homegrown messaging platform and the largest Indian Internet company by users, announced that it has raised a Series D financing of over $175 Millon in a new funding round led by Tencent Holdings Limited and Foxconn Technology group valuing the company close to $1.4 Billion. Existing investors Tiger, Bharti and the SoftbankGroup also participated in this round. This is the fourth venture capital round and the biggest to date for Hike, taking the total investment to over USD 250 Million so far.
Speaking on the occasion, Founder and CEO, Hike Messenger, Kavin Bharti Mittal said – “I’m thrilled to announce this new milestone in our journey. Tencent and Foxconn both have pedigrees that speak for themselves and such an investment especially in today’s market just goes to show the strong foundation on which Hike is being built. The new fund raise is going to allow us to push Hike to greater heights and invest in areas that will be key to our long term vision and success”.
Kevin further added, “I’m also equally excited to have our existing shareholders Tiger, Softbank and Bharti follow in this round who continue to show strong support in our long-term vision. I must say it’s an incredibly exciting time to be at Hike. Not only do we get to wake up every morning every day knowing that our work will impact millions of people, we now also have two incredible new partners to do that with, as we further our mission to bring India online.”
Hike Messenger Key Points and Milestone:-
- Hike launched in 2012, i.e., 12/12/12, Which is available in 100+ countries
- In January 2016, Hike had announced that it has 100 Million user base with an exchange of 40 Billion messages per month.
- 95% Hike users are based in India and 90% of them are young and below 30 years.
- At Hike messenger platform per user spend 120 minutes per week
- Emphasis on Privacy that includes the innovative features hidden mode that hides chat quickly.
- Features like Hike Direct helps share files without internet and Hike2SMS helps to send free SMS when there is no internet connectivity which was exclusively launched for India.
