Jason Kothari, former Snapdeal executive and seasoned entrepreneur, has launched a new entertainment-tech venture, Mythik, raising $15 million in what is being touted as the largest seed funding round in India’s media-tech sector to date.
The company, founded in April, seeks to reintroduce Eastern mythology, history, and folktales to the world through modern storytelling and cutting-edge technology. With ambitions to build a “Disney from the East,” Mythik plans to create original intellectual property inspired by the cultural heritage of Asia, tailored for global audiences. The seed round brought together a high-profile group of investors, including Sakal Media Group, BITKRAFT Ventures, VC Grid, Visceral Capital, and Kothari himself. Among the notable individual investors are Shah Rukh Khan’s family office, the Patni family office, UAE’s Saif Saeed Ghobash, Polygon co-founder Jaynti Kanani, Deepen Parikh of Courtside Ventures, Tridiagonal AI’s Pravin Jain, and Samir Vora of Enam Asset Management.
“Mythik’s goal is to celebrate and share the vast treasure trove of Eastern narratives with a global audience,” said Kothari in a statement. “We’re honoured to have support from a diverse group of world-class investors who share our belief in the power of storytelling to inspire joy, hope, and understanding across cultures.”
The startup’s core team comprises former senior executives from entertainment giants such as Disney, Netflix, Amazon Studios, Jio, and Tencent, bringing together decades of experience in content creation and distribution. Kothari has a track record of building and reviving companies. While at Wharton, he took over a bankrupt Valiant Entertainment, turned it around, and eventually sold it for $100 million. He also served as executive producer of Bloodshot, a Hollywood film based on a Valiant character starring Vin Diesel.
In India, he led Housing.com through a difficult transition as CEO, and later served in key leadership roles at FreeCharge and Snapdeal. With Mythik, Kothari aims to blend his international media experience with India’s storytelling legacy, using emerging technologies to deliver immersive experiences rooted in ancient tales. The company will use the fresh capital to develop original content, invest in production capabilities, and expand its creative and technical teams.