Mayank Bidawatka Secures $4M in Seed Funding for Billion Hearts
Mayank Bidawatka, the former co-founder of Koo, has secured $4 million in seed funding for his company, Billion Hearts Software Technologies Pvt Ltd. The funding round was led by Blume Ventures, with participation from General Catalyst and Athera Venture Partners. The investment is being led by Karthik Reddy, Partner at Blume Ventures, alongside Neeraj Arora, Managing Director at General Catalyst and former CBO of WhatsApp, and Rutvik Doshi, Partner at Athera Venture Partners. Billion Hearts was founded by Bidawatka in August of this year.
“Billion Hearts aims to create digital products for a global user base. The first product is slated for a beta launch in a few months. While the product is still in stealth, it deals with a wide use case that’s relevant for all smartphone users around the world, across age groups. It will use deep tech to solve the problem," said Karthik Reddy, Partner at Blume Ventures. "Mayank has built and scaled multiple large ventures successfully in the past and we’re excited to partner with him once again to see his vision for Billion Hearts come to life”, he added.
This funding follows an earlier angel round of ~$250K from prominent startup builders, including those who have built startups such as redBus, Ola, InMobi, Flipkart, and Myntra.
Neeraj Arora, Managing Director at General Catalyst, said, “We back audacious entrepreneurs building global products with positive powerful impact. Mayank and the Billion Hearts team have insight and a distinctive approach toward building a solution that caters to a wide and unmet need of users globally". "Mayank is a proven leader, who has built successful internet ventures in the past. He has a deep passion for creating global products from India. We're excited to be by his side on this journey”.
Currently, Billion Hearts is developing a digital consumer product aimed at a global market. The product, currently in stealth mode, promises to address a smartphone use case with deep tech solutions. The beta launch is planned in the coming months; thousands of users have already subscribed for early access.
“I’m excited to announce that Billion Hearts is being backed by a set of folks I truly admire. I look forward to bringing happy products to users around the world with a commitment to build world-class products from India", said Mayank Bidawatka, Founder of Billion Hearts. "While our product is still in stealth, I’d like to say that almost everyone with a smartphone will want this product, with no exception. Thousands of enthusiasts have already subscribed to our beta. We’ll soon announce something special for all those who sign up for early access", he added.
Koo, created as a homegrown alternative to Twitter (now X), shut down its operations in July after acquisition talks with media company DailyHunt collapsed. Co-founders Bidawatka and Aprameya Radhakrishna announced the platform's closure following the failed negotiations. Before Koo, Bidawatka co-founded Goodbox in August 2015 and Media Ant in June 2012. He was also a key member of the founding team at redBus in 2007.