Anupam Mittal is one of the most well-known names in Indian business. He is known for his warmth, creativity, and determination. Mittal is the founder and CEO of Shaadi.com, the first online marriage site that has helped millions of people find love. He has changed the way generations find their “happily ever after.” His story shows how to find chances where others see traditions, from being a tech-savvy student in Mumbai to a shark in the high-stakes world of Shark Tank India. Mittal is still shaping India’s startup ecosystem today, with an estimated net worth of ₹215 crore as of 2025. He does this through investments, strong opinions, and a commitment to helping the middle class.
Early Life: Growing up in Mumbai’s lively chaos
Anupam Mittal was born on December 23, 1971, in the middle of Mumbai. He grew up in a simple family with his parents, Bhagwati Devi Mittal and Gopal Krishna Mittal. The city’s constant activity—its mix of dreams, diversity, and daily work—made him value resilience and opportunity from a young age. He learned how to think critically at the prestigious Jai Hind College in Mumbai, but it was his quest for higher education abroad that really opened his eyes.
Mittal went to the US, where he got a Bachelor’s degree from Boston College and then an MBA in Operations and Strategic Management. These years weren’t just about books; they also showed him the early stages of the internet revolution and how business works around the world. “The internet was this wild, untamed frontier,” Mittal later said in interviews, hinting at the idea that would set off his entrepreneurial fire. He went back to India in the middle of the 1990s and worked for a short time as a product manager at MicroStrategy in Washington, D.C. He missed home, though, and he saw a cultural gap in matchmaking that made him want to go back.
The Eureka Moment: The Birth of Shaadi.com
In 1996, India was about to have a digital awakening. In cyber cafes, dial-up modems made noise, and the World Wide Web was more of a novelty than a need. In Indian society, arranged marriages were still based on newspaper ads, matchmakers, and family networks, which were often limited by time and place. Anupam Mittal, who had just returned from the U.S., saw how inefficient things were and thought of a digital bridge.
Mittal started Sagaai.com in 1997 after meeting a traditional marriage broker. The next year, he changed the name to Shaadi.com. “Why not use technology to give people more options and make matching more scientific?” he asked. The platform was a game-changer: it had profiles with pictures, filters for caste, community, and compatibility, and you could access it from anywhere. There was a lot of doubt—after all, who would trust a website with the most important bond in life? But Mittal’s hard work paid off. Shaadi.com grew a lot by adding features that helped people trust each other, like verified profiles and success stories.
Shaadi.com grew into a huge business under the People Group, which Mittal started to house his businesses. It has over 35 million users today, and it has helped plan almost 5 million weddings, bringing in ₹261 crore in revenue in FY 2022-23. It’s not just a business; it’s a change in culture that mixes tradition with technology in a way that was ahead of global apps like Tinder by almost 20 years.
Building an Empire: Going Beyond Diversification
Mittal’s plans went well beyond marriage. He started Mauj Mobile, India’s first mobile gaming company, in 2004 to take advantage of the rapid growth of feature phones. In 2007, Makaan.com came next. It was a real estate marketplace that made it easier for everyone to find a home in a market that was hard to find. People Group grew into a major player in the media and entertainment industries. They even made movies in Bollywood, like 99 and Flavors, where Mittal acted and produced with friends Raj and DK.
His leadership included speaking out for others. Mittal pushed for digital policies that helped businesses grow while he was Chairperson of the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) from 2006 to 2007 and then co-founded H2 India in 2018. These actions weren’t just smart; they showed that he believed technology could level the playing field. “You don’t build an economy by making people feel gareeb,” he joked in early 2025, praising the Union Budget’s zero-tax slab up to ₹12 lakh for making the middle class spend more.
The Shark’s Den: Money and Advice
His angel investing portfolio is his hustle, and Shaadi.com is his heart. He has made more than 250 investments in clean tech, consumer internet, healthcare, and SaaS. Some of the companies he has backed include Ola Cabs (one of his first bets, with ₹1 crore for 2% equity), BigBasket, Rapido, and MobiKwik. He added KALAKARAM to his list in May 2025, bringing his total to 247 companies.
But Shark Tank India was the show that made Mittal the most famous. He was a judge on Seasons 1 through 3 (and beyond) and invested more than ₹188 crore in pitches, turning small ideas into big money-makers. In September 2025, he said, “Shark Tank has had a huge effect on the ecosystem,” pointing out that three of his first investments reached impressive milestones. His no-nonsense style, which mixes empathy with tough questions, has made him a fan favorite. He has appeared on shows like Kaun Banega Crorepati and The Kapil Sharma Show.
Love, family, and a little bit of Bollywood in my personal life
Mittal is a family man, even though he fights in the boardroom. In 2013, he married model Aanchal Kumar, who had been his girlfriend for a long time, in a big ceremony in Jaipur. In 2015, the couple had a daughter named Alyssa. Mittal often shares pictures of their life, like family trips to Kashmir in September 2025, when he was amazed by how the area stayed strong during tourism booms in apples, saffron, and startups. He wrote, “Kashmir’s beauty and spirit are better than Switzerland’s,” and told others to go there and help the economy.
He has also done some acting, with cameo roles in movies and a recent 2025 cameo in the Prime Video series Partner with Tamannaah Bhatia and Diana Penty. But Mittal stays grounded, tweeting things like “MBAs are out of date” all the time. “Build instead” or make fun of AI taking jobs to calm fears about working 70 hours a week.
The Past and the Future
Anupam Mittal’s story isn’t one of instant success; it’s about taking smart risks and understanding other cultures. He has won many awards, such as the 2020 TiE Outstanding Serial Entrepreneur award, Forbes’ 2016 award for being a top angel investor, and The Week’s list of India’s 50 Most Powerful People. Mittal sees a future where technology helps those who don’t have it as much as others. His portfolio is doing well and Shaadi.com is changing for Gen Z.
Mittal reminds us that innovation thrives when rooted in empathy as he talks about traveling to resilient places like Kashmir or debating workplace flexibility—”Promotions come from ownership, not tenure.” In a world moving quickly toward AI and beyond, the man who matched millions shows us that the best connections are made one brave step at a time.
