Shark Tank India 3: Meet Ritesh Agarwal, The Youngest SHARK To Join Judges Panel; All About Him

Shark Tank India 3 New Judge: Following the success of the previous two seasons, Sony's highly popular show, Shark Tank India, is making a comeback with its third season. The show provided a platform for numerous entrepreneurs to realise their dreams.

Shark Tank India season 3 is expected to be well received, like before.

The business reality television series Shark Tank India will premiere in January 2024, and registrations for pitchers have already started. However, the audience will have a surprise this season, which is the addition of a new judge.

A new shark will be joining the eminent judges Anupam Mittal, Aman Gupta, Namita Thapar, Vineeta Singh, and Amit Jain. Read below to learn more.

Shark Tank India season 3 to have a new judge

On Saturday, SET India uploaded a video on their social media page to announce the newest addition to the Shark Tank India family. Sitting on their chairs, we were introduced to Ritesh Agarwal, who will be joining the show's judges panel for the third season.

Sharing the video, the channel wrote, "Shark Reveal! Welcoming our new Shark Ritesh Agarwal, Founder and CEO, of OYO Rooms, to Shark Tank India. Stay tuned for more exciting updates! #SharkTankIndia season 3 streaming soon on Sony LIV." The video has gone viral.

Who is Ritesh Agarwal?

Ritesh Agarwal is the founder and CEO of OYO Rooms. He is 29 years old and was born in a Marwari family in Odisha's Bissam, Cuttack. He spent his childhood in Titilagarh, in Odisha.

Ritesh completed his schooling in Rayagada and later continued his academics at St. John's Senior Secondary School in Kota, Rajasthan. In 2011, he moved to Delhi to pursue his college education, but he dropped out of college, and in 2013, he was selected for the Thiel Fellowship, founded by renowned entrepreneur Peter Thiel.

He began his entrepreneurial journey with a budget accommodation portal named Oravel Stays, for booking budget hotels. Later, it was accepted into the accelerator program by Venture Nursery in September 2012.

Ritesh received a grant of $100,000 in May 2013 from the Thiel Fellowship programme and launched a company named OYO Rooms. In 2019, OYO Rooms, Agarwal purchased $2 billion in shares of the company. As per Hurun Rich List 2020, Ritesh's estimated net worth is approximately $1.1 billion (₹7253 crore).

On a personal note, Ritesh Agarwal got married to Geetansha Sood, who is the director of Formation Ventures Private Ltd., in March 2023.

About Shark Tank India

The Indian franchise is insured by the American show Shark Tank. It features entrepreneurs presenting their innovative business ideas, models, and inventions to a panel of judges, who are referred to as sharks. The first season was launched in 2021.