Instant messaging app Hike gets 1.5 cr users in 9-months

Company is a joint venture between Sunil Mittal led Bharati Enterprises and Japanese company Soft Bank

After WhatsApp, India’s very own instant messaging (IM) app Hike messenger is emerging as the fastest growing mobile app and gaining popularity among the youngsters. According Saif Attari, head, business development, Hike has grown 300 per cent in the last nine months.

Launched in December 2012, Hike has 1.5 crore users till date. Hike is a 50:50 joint venture between Sunil Mittal led Bharati Enterprises and Japanese company Soft Bank.

“We are targeting to be number one player in the instant messaging space. One of Hike’s key India specific features is ‘hike Offline, which allows users to connect with friends who don’t have smartphones /data connectivity via Free SMS. This feature is critical in India because till date, feature phones account for more than three-quarters of the overall phone market.Hike is now offering unlimited SMS to its users.

The more you chat on Hike, the more free SMS you get, says Attari. Hike received a funding of Rs  84 crore from Bharati Soft Bank (BSB), soon after it crossed 1.5 crore users. Last year, it had received Rs  42 crore funding from BSB. He added, “Currently, we are focusing only on India market. Around 80 per cent of our users are from India and most of them are under the age group of 20 years.

We are targeting first time mobile internet users and our effort is to make poplar amongst the youngsters.” As per a Deloitte report, the number of smartphone users in urban India will cross 10.4 crore in 2014 as compared to 5.1 crore users in 2013. In terms of usage, 90 per cent of smartphone users use a chat app, according to Informate Mobile Intelligence Report.