Rishi Khiani to step down as Ant Farm CEO to build a job-tech startup

CEO and managing director of digital innovation company Ant Farm Rishi Khiani has decided to step down from his day-to-day operations in the firm to focus on his new venture. The management of the company will be transitioned to co-founder Upen Roop Rai. 

Khiani, who co-founded the Mumbai-based company in 2013, is set to launch a new job-tech startup that aims to bridge the gap between available jobs and job seekers across various industries. 

He will continue to be a promoter shareholder in Ant Farm and its downstream companies, a statement said.

“I founded Ant Farm back in 2013 when India had just seen a disruption in the startup space. The idea was to accelerate companies during their early stage with an intensive hands-on approach, backed by an experienced team in the given sector. It was a thrilling experience to build some great companies in the past eight years,” Khiani said.

Khiani was also the CEO of media conglomerate Times Group’s digital unit Times Internet, the chief operating officer of media group Network 18’s digital unit  Web18 & Mobile18 and the CEO of Network 18’s portal development and interactive unit UrbanEye Media.

Taking into account the current scenario of the economy and the country’s job market, Khiani said his next startup will focus on enabling the next billion jobs. 

“Given that ambition and opportunity, it was important to clear my desk of all other responsibilities,” he said.