Acclaimed Mysuru tech entrepreneur kills wife and son in US, dies by suicide
A Mysuru-based tech entrepreneur has fatally shot his wife and one of his sons before taking his own life in New Castle, Washington, where the family lived.
The deceased are Harshavardhana S Kikkeri, 57, who was CEO of HoloWorld, a robotics company headquartered in Mysuru's Vijayanagar Third Stage; Shwetha Panyam, 44, his wife and co-founder of HoloWorld; and their 14-year-old son. The couple's younger son has survived the incident that occurred on April 24.
According to the King County Sheriff's Office, deputies who responded to a 911 call discovered three bodies inside Harsha's home. The motive behind the crime is yet to be revealed.
HoloWorld, set up in 2018, closed its operations in 2022.
Harsha was originally from Kikkeri village in Mandya district. A graduate of Sri Jayachamarajendra College of Engineering in Mysuru, he had worked with Microsoft in the US, specialising in robotics. In 2017, he and Shwetha returned to India and co-founded HoloWorld.
The company made headlines in 2018 for creating HoloSuit, an innovative, wireless, full-body motion capture suit. With applications in sports, education, healthcare, and more, HoloWorld's products were exported globally, including to the US, the UK, and Israel. Shwetha served as the company's chairperson.
Harsha's work gained recognition at the national level—he met Prime Minister Narendra Modi to pitch using robots for border security. He was also active in the Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE) community and often delivered talks on robotics and innovation.
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