iWorld
Hike eyes more funds in 2019
MUMBAI: Home-grown messaging app and India’s WhatsApp rival Hike has shut down its Total app which was launched in January 2018 as the company wants to just focus on keeping it simple for the masses, and will go back to the basics as a strategic move.
Now, according to an ET Telecom report, Hike is eyeing more funds in 2019 and will start experimenting with monetisation models from 2020. The app will now primarily focus on messaging and stickers and will withdraw from other services such as payments.
Since there is an interest on the consumer side in the country for short videos apps, the company is also expected to launch a separate app for content which may be on the same pages as video creating and sharing app Tiktok.
As reports go, Hike did a lot of experimenting in the last year and half and added stuff at the cost of something else. As in the world of internet, things are very dynamic and products evolve quickly and in many cases, these products evolve away from the core. Therefore, Hike has decided to focus on its core which is to be ‘social’.
So far, Hike has raised $261 million from investors, which includes Chinese multinational investment holding conglomerate Tencent Holdings Ltd, manufacturing company Foxconn Technology Group and the Bharti Group.
Since its last fundraiser which was in the fourth quarter of 2016, it raised $175 million by led by Tencent and Foxconn at the valuation of $1.4 billion. Most of the funds from the last fundraiser remain available in hands of the company but in late 2019 or 2020, it will look to raise more funds.
Like the last time where the company went on to explore in multiple directions and lost focus on its essential and core in order to evolve the product is something it will avoid doing with the raised funds in future.
The idea here is to “focus on to simplifying the applications”, Hike will focus on stickers and voice and with that it will continue to work on privacy as a feature through its encryption technology in India.
Gaming
MTG gaming chief Benninghoff joins NODWIN board as esports firm primes for IPO
The Gurugram-based esports firm is pursuing a public listing, has returned to profitability and is growing revenues by 42 per cent
GURUGRAM: NODWIN Gaming is moving fast. The Gurugram-based gaming and esports company has launched a pre-IPO fundraising round, appointed UBS as lead adviser for both the round and a subsequent public listing, and landed a heavyweight board director, all in one go.
The new board member is Arnd Benninghoff, executive vice president of gaming at Stockholm-listed Modern Times Group (MTG), who has overseen the group’s strategic investments and portfolio growth since 2014. He is no stranger to building things: Benninghoff has founded and built fifteen companies, served as chief digital officer at ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG, managing director of SevenVentures, and chief executive of Holtzbrinck eLAB. He began his career as a journalist at Deutsche Presse Agentur and various TV networks, holds a Diplom-Kaufmann in business and administration from the University of Münster, and previously sat on the board of Edgeware AB.
The numbers back the ambition
NODWIN is not pitching a story without substance. The company has returned to EBITDA profitability and posted a 42 per cent year-on-year revenue surge, reaching $58.5m in the first nine months of FY2026. The pre-IPO round will combine a primary issuance to fund global expansion through organic growth and acquisitions, alongside a secondary sale to give existing shareholders some liquidity.
Akshat Rathee, co-founder and managing director of NODWIN Gaming, said Benninghoff understands “the entire lifecycle of the gaming and media ecosystem, from the boots-on-the-ground reality of building startups to the strategic complexity of managing multi-billion dollar global portfolios.”
Benninghoff, for his part, said the company “sits at the intersection of sports, entertainment, and technology, making it one of the most exciting players in the global gaming landscape today.”
A portfolio built for the global south
Founded in 2014 by Rathee and Gautam Virk, NODWIN has quietly assembled one of the more compelling esports portfolios outside the Western hemisphere. Its properties include DreamHack India and Comic Con India, and it recently acquired StarLadder, the Ukraine-based tournament organiser behind premier events in CS:GO and Dota 2. The company also serves as a long-term strategic marketing partner for the Evolution Championship Series (EVO), the world’s most prominent fighting game tournament, helping push it into new geographies.
Its geographic focus spans South Asia, Central Asia, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Backers include Nazara Technologies, KRAFTON, Sony Group Corporation, JetSynthesys, and the founders’ investment vehicle Good Game Investments.
What comes next
With UBS running the books, a board freshly reinforced with European media and gaming expertise, and revenue heading in the right direction, NODWIN is laying the groundwork deliberately. The esports industry has burned investors before with big promises and thin margins. NODWIN’s return to profitability, combined with a real portfolio of owned intellectual properties across gaming, music and youth culture, gives it a more credible runway than most. The IPO clock is now ticking.
