Former CEO of Housing.com Jason Kothari launches Mythik to build the ‘Disney from the East’

Jason Kothari, the former CEO of Housing.com and FreeCharge, has unveiled his latest venture, Mythik, a tech-driven global entertainment startup with an ambitious vision to bring Eastern mythology and stories to the global stage. 

By blending ancient narratives with cutting-edge technology, Mythik aims to create a modern entertainment powerhouse inspired by timeless cultural tales, positioning itself as the "Disney from the East."

Focusing on retelling the mythology

Mythik will focus on retelling the mythology, history, and folklore of the East, particularly stories that resonate with a global audience of over 3.5 billion people. The startup plans to present these narratives in immersive, modern formats using advanced technology, aiming to inspire joy, hope, and cultural pride.

Kothari, known for his successful turnarounds in both the entertainment and technology sectors, said the new venture seeks to address a long-standing imbalance in global storytelling.

“Global entertainment has been dominated by Hollywood and Western stories. It’s time to share Eastern stories—our history, culture, values, and greatest legends—with the world, leveraging cutting-edge technology across all aspects of the business to create a new tech-first entertainment company,” said Kothari.

Kothari's leadership experience

Kothari brings a wealth of experience to the venture. While a Wharton college student, he acquired his childhood favourite comic book company Valiant Entertainment out of bankruptcy and became the CEO at 24 years old.  He recruited the management team behind the historic Marvel Entertainment turnaround and led the turnaround of Valiant, resulting in the sale of the company to China-based DMG Entertainment for $100 million.

Kothari was an Executive Producer of the Valiant character-based movie ‘Bloodshot’ starring Vin Diesel by Sony Pictures. Following this, Kothari was CEO of Softbank-backed Housing.com, where he led the transformation of the company and merger with a News Corp portfolio company to create the $350 million industry leader in India.

In addition, he was CSIO of Softbank-backed Snapdeal, which was valued at $6.5 billion, where he played a lead role in the turnaround of the company from a $20 million monthly loss to a profit, a first for an Indian e-commerce company.  

He was also CEO of FreeCharge, where he led the strategic sale of the company to Axis Bank. In addition to his executive leadership roles, Kothari has been actively guiding established businesses.

He serves on the Board of Directors of Emaar India, which owns $3 billion in real estate assets and was chaired by the founder H.E. Mohamed Alabbar.  He was also on the Board of Directors of Balaji Telefilms, advising the founding family, and Jordan-based Al Tibbi.

In addition, he was on the Executive Committee of Noon, which raised $1 billion in initial funding, advising the founder, and a senior advisor to Softbank, where he worked with the founder Masayoshi Son and former President Nikesh Arora.

The founding team of Mythik comprises former senior leaders from prominent companies such as Disney, Netflix, Amazon Studios, Jio, Tencent, and others.