Amit Jain, co-founder and chief executive of CarDekho Group will be the new shark (investor) in Season 2 of the business reality television show Shark Tank India.
It has been confirmed that five sharks from the first season - Anupam Mittal (Shaadi.com), Aman Gupta (boAt), Namita Thapar (Emcure Pharmaceuticals), Vineeta Singh (Sugar Cosmetics), and Peyush Bansal (Lenskart) are returning.
Ashneer Grover, who had gained a sizable fan following last season, is not making a comeback this time. Along with him, Ghazal Alagh also will be missed. Meanwhile, Stand-up comedian Rahul Dua is taking over from Rannvijay Singha as the host for this season.
‘’Shark Tank is a platform that has propelled entrepreneurial journeys to the hyper growth orbit by providing not only funding but also sponsorship of Sharks. Season 1 of Shark Tank in India fired up the same streak for all Indian startups and has changed the Indian outlook towards entrepreneurship,” said Jain.
He added, “I am confident that Season 2 will surely be a more versatile platform for Indian entrepreneurial dreams. We will surely write some defining stories during this journey.”
CarDekho operated by Girnar Software Pvt. Ltd) was founded in 2008. It has a presence in India and South-East Asia. Girnarsoft operates auto portals - CarDekho, ZigWheels, BikeDekho, PowerDrift, OTO (Indonesia and Malaysia), Carmudi (Philippines).
CarDekho counts Sequoia India, Hillhouse Capital, Sunley House, CapitalG, Ping An, Leapfrog Investments, Canyon Partners, Times Internet, among others as its backers.
The Indian version of the global Shark Tank show, which commenced in December last year, allows budding entrepreneurs to make pitches to judges. The Shark, or the judges, meanwhile, cut cheques for a stake in the company if impressed with the business models and founders.
The date for the premiere of Shark Tank India season 2 has not been announced by the channel so far. It is expected to air sometime this year, most likely by late November or early December.