Hike takes U-turn, shifts to multi-app approach in quest for funds

From aspiring to be India's answer to WeChat to trying to be another Sharechat, Hike's rollercoaster starts again

Exactly a year ago in an interview with Business Standard, Kavin Bharti Mittal, founder and chief executive officer of Hike, the home-grown messenger service competing with the likes of WhatsApp, said while his product was inspired by WeChat, he wanted to take that forward and localise for the Indian market. 

The plan was to create a super app that provided all possible services including shopping on online marketplaces, booking cabs, ordering food online, etc — all hinged on an in-app wallet launched by the firm in 2017. However, a lot has changed since then.

Cut to January 2019, Hike announced