‘Very promising and intelligent': a friend remembers Karnataka tech CEO Harshavardhana Kikkeri
Days after Harshavardhana S Kikkeri, a tech entrepreneur from Karnataka, allegedly shot dead his wife and one of his sons before taking his own life in Washington state, US, his friend in Mysuru Wednesday expressed his shock over the deaths.
Harshavardhana S Kikkeri, 57, who was the CEO of HoloWorld, a robotics company headquartered in Mysuru town, reportedly shot Shwetha Panyam, 44, his wife and co-founder of HoloWorld, and their 14-year-old son. While the incident took place on April 24 in Newcastle, Washington, the police in the US town are yet to reveal the motive behind his actions.
Speaking to The Indian Express, Bhaskar Kalale, Chairman, EqualizeRCM said Kikkeri was a very active tech-savvy friend. 'The last time I met him was in Mysuru about a year ago. He was very promising, intelligent, and had accomplished a lot of things. In fact, cricketer Yuvraj Singh had funded his organisation and also was the brand ambassador,' added Kalale, who is also the president of the Mysuru chapter of The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE).
'Many from the business fraternity in Mysuru thought that he was juggling between the US and Mysuru and never knew he had shifted his family,' Kalale said.
Kalale said Kikkeri, also a TEDx speaker, used to deliver several talks in Mysuru about technology and innovation.
While none of Kikkeri's family members lived in Mysuru, HoloWorld was headquartered in the town's Vijayanagar Third Stage area. He also ran a training centre for robotics in Mysuru.
Speaking to the media, the owner of the building where Kikkeri had his office said he started it in 2018, but it was shut down after 2022. The training centre for robotics was also shut, but the HoloWorld operated from Mysuru and the US. 'He was a very reserved person who spoke less but was very humble,' the building owner added.
Meanwhile, Brandyn Hull, spokesperson of the sheriff in King County, Washington, told the media they are investigating whether the deaths were a murder-suicide. 'An investigation such as this takes time, and our detectives are working diligently to try and piece together what led to this incident,' Hull said in a statement.
American newspaper The Seattle Times reported the police attended a 911 call around 7 pm on April 24, and they found three people dead, and a toddler alive. According to the report, the detectives found blood on the front window, and a lone hollow point bullet in the street.
Kikkeri, who belonged to the Kikkeri village in Mandya, graduated from Sri Jayachamarajendra College of Engineering in Mysuru, and worked with Microsoft in the US, focusing on robotics. He also had a Master of Science degree from Syracuse University, US. Kikkeri held 44 international patents, and worked in Infosys as a software engineer before moving to the US.
In 2017, he and his wife, Shwetha, returned to India and co-founded HoloWorld. The company gained recognition in 2018 with the launch of HoloSuit, a wireless full-body motion capture suit used in sports, education, healthcare, and other fields. The company's products were exported to countries, including the US, the UK, and Israel.
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