Harshil Mathur and Shashank Kumar, the 33-year-old co-founders of Razorpay, have been recognized as the youngest Indian billionaires on the Hurun Rich List 2024. With an estimated net worth of ₹8,700 crores (approximately USD 1.03 billion), these Y Combinator alumni have made significant strides in the fintech industry, positioning themselves as the youngest billionaires in India.
Rising Stars in Indian Entrepreneurship
The Hurun Rich List also highlighted other young entrepreneurs making waves in India. Zepto co-founders Kaivalya Vohra, 21, and Aadit Palicha, 22, topped the list of the youngest entrepreneurs in the country. Vohra boasts an estimated net worth of ₹3,600 crores (USD 429 million), while Palicha’s net worth stands at ₹4,300 crores (USD 512 million).
The Rise of Razorpay
Mathur and Kumar’s journey began in 2014 when they were inspired to launch Razorpay after witnessing the challenges in India’s online payments industry. Both are graduates of IIT Roorkee and share a passion for coding, which laid the foundation for their success. Razorpay, a financial solutions company, focuses on simplifying digital payments for Indian businesses. The company’s valuation has skyrocketed from $1 billion to $7.5 billion in just a few years.
On his LinkedIn profile, Mathur reflects on their journey: “After discovering the dismal state of online payments in India, I quit my full-time job as a Wireline Field Engineer at Schlumberger to start Razorpay along with my friend and partner in crime Shashank Kumar. I am the CEO and co-founder of Razorpay, and our company’s mission is to simplify payments.”
Kumar, who serves as co-founder and managing director of Razorpay, also studied Computer Science at IIT Roorkee. Their enduring friendship and shared vision have been instrumental in their success. Mathur notes, “I met Shashank during our time at IIT Roorkee, and our collaboration began there. We worked on numerous projects together, fueled by our shared passion for coding. In fact, many of the codes we wrote during our college days are still the backbone of Razorpay’s operations today.”
Bengaluru: A Hub for Billionaires
Both Mathur and Kumar are based in Bengaluru, a city that is home to 27 Indian billionaires. According to the Hurun Rich List 2024, Wipro’s Azim Premji was named the richest person in Bengaluru.
