Ritesh Agarwal

Ritesh Agarwal is an Indian entrepreneur, investor and the founder and Group CEO of PRISM, the parent company of OYO. Born on 16 November 1993 in Bissam Cuttack, Odisha, Agarwal grew up in Rayagada and developed an interest in technology, entrepreneurship and travel at a young age. He later moved to Delhi for college but dropped out to pursue his startup ambitions.

Agarwal began his entrepreneurial journey with Oravel Stays in 2012, a platform focused on budget accommodation. After receiving the Thiel Fellowship in 2013, he transformed the business into OYO Rooms, building a technology-driven hospitality network designed to standardise budget hotels and make accommodation more accessible to travellers.

Ritesh Agarwal became one of India's most prominent young startup founders as OYO expanded across India and international markets. The company later evolved into PRISM, a global hospitality technology platform spanning hotels, vacation homes and urban rentals. PRISM now operates across more than 35 countries and had more than 293,000 storefronts and listings as of December 2025.

Agarwal's entrepreneurial profile expanded beyond OYO through angel investments in Indian startups across fintech, consumer technology, education, logistics and other sectors. His publicly tracked investment portfolio includes companies such as Unacademy, CARS24, Dukaan, Emversity, Growth School, Centricity and BorderPlus.

Ritesh Agarwal has also become a familiar television personality through Shark Tank India, joining the show's panel as a shark. His career has made him one of India's best-known startup founders and a prominent figure in the country's technology and entrepreneurship ecosystem.

Ritesh Agarwal's wealth is primarily linked to his substantial ownership in PRISM, the parent company of OYO, along with his personal investments and other assets. The 2026 Hurun Global Rich List estimated his wealth at approximately US$1.6 billion, placing him among India's youngest billionaires.