logo
Housing.com's former CEO Jason Kothari launches tech-first entertainment company Mythik

Housing.com's former CEO Jason Kothari launches tech-first entertainment company Mythik

Economic Times23-04-2025

Jason Kothari, former CEO of Housing .com, has returned to the entertainment space with the launch of Mythik, a new tech-first venture aimed at bringing Eastern mythology, folktales, and history to a global audience.
Kothari, who has also held leadership roles at ecommerce platform Snapdeal and digital payments firm FreeCharge, said the global dominance of Western narratives in entertainment presents an opportunity for stories from the East to gain wider traction.
'Global entertainment has been dominated by Hollywood and Western stories. It's time to share Eastern stories - our history, culture, values, and greatest legends - with the world, leveraging cutting-edge technology across all aspects of the business to create a new tech-first entertainment company,' said Kothari.
While Mythik's slate of projects and rollout timelines are yet to be announced, the company's founding team includes former senior executives from Disney, Netflix, Amazon Studios, Jio, and Tencent. The venture plans to develop immersive storytelling formats targeting a potential audience of 3.5 billion people across Asia and beyond.
Kothari's entrepreneurial journey began while he was still at Wharton, when he acquired the bankrupt comic book publisher Valiant Entertainment and led its turnaround. He eventually sold the company to DMG Entertainment for $100 million. He also served as executive producer of Bloodshot, the Vin Diesel-led film based on a Valiant character.
Kothari joined Housing .com in August 2015 and was named CEO in November of that year following the exit of founding CEO Rahul Yadav. He later served as chief strategy and investment officer at Snapdeal and as CEO of FreeCharge, where he oversaw its sale to Axis Bank.
In addition to his executive roles, Kothari sits on the board of Emaar India and has previously advised companies including Balaji Telefilms and Noon.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Iran says to target U.S. bases if conflict breaks out
Iran says to target U.S. bases if conflict breaks out

The Hindu

time34 minutes ago

  • The Hindu

Iran says to target U.S. bases if conflict breaks out

Iran threatened on Wednesday (June 11, 2025) to target U.S. military bases in the region if conflict breaks out, while President Donald Trump said he was 'less confident' about reaching a nuclear deal. Amid escalating tensions, a U.S. official said staff levels at the embassy in Iraq were being reduced over security concerns, while the U.K. Maritime Trade Operations, run by the British navy, advised ships to transit the Gulf with caution. Also read: Iran says sixth round of U.S. talks planned for June 15 Tehran and Washington have held five rounds of talks since April to thrash out a new nuclear deal to replace the 2015 accord that Mr. Trump abandoned during his first term in 2018. Since returning to office in January, Mr. Trump has revived his 'maximum pressure' campaign on Tehran, backing nuclear diplomacy but warning of military action if it fails. 'All its bases are within our reach; we have access to them, and without hesitation we will target all of them in the host countries,' Iran's Defence Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh said in response to U.S. threats of military action if the talks fail. 'God willing, things won't reach that point, and the talks will succeed,' the Minister said, adding that the U.S. side 'will suffer more losses' if it came to conflict. The United States has multiple bases in the Middle East, with the largest located in Qatar. Iran and the United States have recently been locked in a diplomatic standoff over Iran's uranium enrichment, with Tehran defending it as a 'non-negotiable' right and Washington calling it as a 'red line'. Mr. Trump had previously expressed optimism about the talks, saying during a Gulf tour last month Washington was "getting close" to securing a deal. But in an interview published on Wednesday (June 11, 2025), Mr. Trump said he was 'less confident' the United States and Iran could reach a deal, in response to a question on whether he believed he could stop Tehran from enriching uranium. 'A shame' Iran currently enriches uranium to 60%, far above the 3.67% limit set in the 2015 deal and close, though still short, of the 90% needed for a nuclear warhead. Western countries, including the United States and its ally Israel, have long accused Iran of seeking to acquire atomic weapons, while Tehran insists its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes. Last week, Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said enrichment is 'key' to Iran's nuclear programme and that Washington 'cannot have a say' on the issue. Also read: Iran says no sanctions relief in U.S. nuclear proposal During the interview with the New York Post's podcast 'Pod Force One', which was recorded on Monday (June 9, 2025), Mr. Trump said he was losing hope a deal could be reached. 'I don't know. I did think so, and I'm getting more and more — less confident about it. They seem to be delaying and I think that's a shame. I am less confident now than I would have been a couple of months ago,' he said. 'Something happened to them but I am much less confident of a deal being made... Maybe they don't want to make a deal; what can I say? And maybe they do. There is nothing final.' Mr. Trump maintained that Washington would not allow Tehran to obtain nuclear weapons, saying, 'It would be nicer to do it without warfare, without people dying'. On May 31, after the fifth round of talks, Iran said it had received 'elements' of a U.S. proposal for a nuclear deal, with Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi later saying the text contained 'ambiguities'. Iran has said it will present a counter-proposal to the latest draft from Washington, which it had criticised for failing to offer relief from sanctions — a key demand for Tehran, which has been reeling under their weight for years. On Monday (June 9, 2025), the United Nations nuclear watchdog began a Board of Governors meeting in Vienna that will last until Friday (June 13, 2025) to discuss Iran's atomic activities and other issues. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) meeting followed a report issued by it criticising 'less than satisfactory' cooperation from Tehran, particularly in explaining past cases of nuclear material found at undeclared sites. Iran has criticised the IAEA report as unbalanced, saying it relied on 'forged documents' provided by its arch-foe Israel. Also read: Who was General Qasem Soleimani and why was he so popular? In January 2020, Iran fired missiles at bases in Iraq housing American troops in retaliation for the U.S. strike that killed top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani days before at Baghdad airport. Dozens of U.S. soldiers suffered traumatic brain injuries.

Orkla India files IPO papers with Sebi
Orkla India files IPO papers with Sebi

Time of India

time2 hours ago

  • Time of India

Orkla India files IPO papers with Sebi

New Delhi: Orkla India, which owns spices and condiments brands MTR and Eastern, has filed preliminary papers with markets regulator Sebi for an initial public offering (IPO). The company's IPO is a complete offer for sale (OFS) of 2.28 crore equity shares by promoter and other shareholders, according to the draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) filed on Tuesday. Under the OFS, promoter Orkla Asia Pacific Pte and shareholders Navas Meeran and Feroz Meeran are offloading shares. At present, the promoters -- Orkla Asia Pacific Pte Ltd and Norwegian industrial investment company Orkla ASA -- hold 90 per cent stake, while Navas Meeran and Feroz Meeran own 5 per cent stake each in the company. Since it is an OFS, the company will not receive any proceeds from the IPO and the entire money will go to the selling shareholders. Orkla India, formerly known as MTR Foods , is a multi-category Indian food company. It manufactures products such as spices and masalas, ready-to-eat sweets and breakfast mixes, under prominent brands such as MTR, Rasoi Magic, and Eastern. The company sells its products under the brands MTR and Eastern. According to Technopak report, the Indian packaged food market was estimated at Rs 10.18 lakh crore in FY24, reflecting a CAGR of 10.8 per cent compared to FY19. ICICI Securities, Citigroup Global Markets India, JP Morgan India, and Kotak Mahindra Capital Company are the book-running lead managers to the issue. In March, Orkla India appointed four independent directors as part of restructuring of its board. PTI

R&D? Rarely
R&D? Rarely

Time of India

time6 hours ago

  • Time of India

R&D? Rarely

Dependence in critical areas makes the nation vulnerable. Strategic interest must prevail over economic sense Germany's crude reserves are so small, they won't last three months in an emergency. So how did Hitler wage war for five years? By turning coal into petrol. Over 92% of the Luftwaffe's aviation fuel was synthetic. As the world grapples with China's rare earth curbs, there's a useful lesson here. While the rare earths crisis that started with China's export curbs on April 4 may be blowing over – Trump announced on Truth Social yesterday, 'Full magnets, and any necessary rare earths, will be supplied, up front, by China' – it will have a once-bitten-twice-shy effect. Over the past few weeks, Western carmakers have considered producing cars minus some components that use rare earths. At home, Maruti's had to scale back production plans for its first EV due to a global shortage of rare earth magnets. As our second Op-Ed explains, these magnets contain about 25% of a rare earth element called neodymium. It's one of the so-called 'light' rare earths that are available in India, but we don't produce enough of it because cheap Chinese supplies made investment in this area unattractive. While you can make motors without rare earths, other devices like TV screens, computers and MRI machines can't do without them. That's why India needs to build a large rare earths industry. And with the world's fifth largest rare earth reserves, it's well-placed to do so. Likewise, it needs to end its dependence on China for 70% of active pharmaceutical ingredients or APIs, because while buying from the cheapest supplier makes economic sense, it's a strategic risk. The aim must be to reduce dependence because dependence, especially in critical products, is vulnerability. About 90% of our crude is imported. An electric future will take care of that, but not if it means 100% dependence on China for lithium batteries. To find alternatives – like Germany's WW-II 'synfuels' – we need big investments in R&D, which is not our strong suit. As a nation, we invest only 0.6% of our $4tn GDP in research. China invests 2.4% of $18tn, US 3.5% of $29tn. And our private sector is even stingier, accounting for only a third of the national R&D spend, as against 70% in US and S Korea. The rare earth crisis is a brief distraction, the real issue is India's rare investment problem, and it needs national attention now. Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email This piece appeared as an editorial opinion in the print edition of The Times of India.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store