Hike raises funds from Tinder co-founder and other investors

At present, Hike operates a cross-functional team of over 160 employees, working remotely from across 50 cities.

On Tuesday Hike, which pivoted from its instant messaging (IM) roots earlier this year, said it has raised new funds from a clutch of investors, as it continues to bet on social, gaming, and crypto.
The round was led by Tinder co-founders, Justin Mateen and Sean Rad; Softbank Vision Fund’s chief executive officer (CEO), Rajeev Misra, Tribe Capital co-founder, Arjun Sethi; Zeta co-founder, Bhavin Turakhia; Flipkart co-founder Binny Bansal and Cred founder, Kunal Shah, among others. Snapdeal co-founders Kunal Bahl and Rohit Kumar Bansal also participated in the round.

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Before this, Hike had raised $175 million in a Series D funding led by internet giant Tencent and manufacturing firm Foxconn. The round had valued the company at $1.4 billion. According to the company, the fresh funds will be deployed to expand Hike’s product strategy along with enabling high-quality hiring across functions.

At present, Hike operates a cross-functional team of over 160 employees, working remotely from across 50 cities. The hike is hiring talent across roles at the intersection of social, gaming, and crypto.

“We’re thrilled to have some of the world’s most iconic product builders and investors join us in our journey. The rapid technological evolution over the last few years has paved the way for massive disruption in social and gaming. There’s little to separate these two categories. Gaming is now inherently social, evolving into a new way for people to hang out and interact in the virtual world,” said Kavin Bharti Mittal, founder, and CEO, Hike.

In January, Mittal had announced that the company will shut its eight-year-old instant messaging app, Hike, shifting focus to its community-based product HikeLand and rebranding it to ‘Vibe by Hike’. Vibe provides a virtual space for individuals to interact and watch content with other users having similar interests.