# Harsh Jain

> Harsh Jain is the Mumbai-based co-founder and CEO of Dream Sports. He and Bhavit Sheth founded Dream11 in 2008, adapting fantasy sports for Indian cricket fans. His career includes building and selling Red Digital, taking Dream Sports to an $8 billion funding valuation in 2021, and leading the group’s reinvention after the 2025 disruption of paid fantasy contests.

- **Role:** CEO and Co-Founder at Dream Sports
- **Organizations:** Dream Sports, Dream11, Red Digital, Tech Entrepreneurs Association of Mumbai (TEAM), Dream Sports Foundation, Raksha Foundation, Columbia Engineering Board of Visitors
- **From:** Mumbai, India
- **Nationality:** Indian
- **Education:** Bachelor of Science in Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, Master of Business Administration, Columbia Business School, Sevenoaks School, Greenlawns High School
- **Known for:** Co-founded Dream11 in 2008 and helped establish fantasy sports as a consumer category in India., Led Dream Sports through its November 2021 $840 million investment at an $8 billion valuation., Dream11 became IPL title sponsor in 2020.

## Career timeline

- **2001** — Began playing fantasy football while studying abroad.
- **2007** — Completed his engineering degree at the University of Pennsylvania; returned to India after a Microsoft internship and joined the family business.
- **2008** — Co-founded Dream11 with Bhavit Sheth in Mumbai.
- **2010** — Built social media agency Red Digital to help finance Dream11 while its original model struggled.
- **2012** — Dream11 introduced freemium fantasy cricket; Jain began his Columbia MBA.
- **2013** — Gozoop acquired Red Digital.
- **2014** — Completed his MBA at Columbia Business School.
- **2019** — Dream11 became a unicorn following a secondary investment.
- **2020** — Dream11 became the IPL title sponsor.
- **2021** — Dream Sports announced $840 million in investment at an $8 billion valuation in November.
- **2025** — Addressed Columbia Engineering’s Graduate Class Day in May; led the response to Dream11’s paid-contest shutdown in August; the group launched Dream Horizon and reorganized into independently led businesses later that year.
- **2026** — Continued as Dream Sports CEO as Vaibhav Kokal became Dream11 CEO and Dream11 completed its sports-engagement pivot in August.

## Achievements

- Co-founded Dream11 in 2008 and helped establish fantasy sports as a consumer category in India.
- Led Dream Sports through its November 2021 $840 million investment at an $8 billion valuation.
- Dream11 became IPL title sponsor in 2020.
- Delivered Columbia Engineering’s Graduate Class Day address on May 19, 2025.
- Co-founded TEAM to support Mumbai’s technology startup ecosystem.
- Supported the Columbia-Dream Sports AI Innovation Center.

## Latest updates

- **2026-08** — Dream11 announced the completion of its pivot to a global sports engagement platform on August 27, discontinuing all prizes. Vaibhav Kokal was named as Dream11 CEO; Jain continued as Dream Sports CEO.
- **2026-04** — Jain described Dream Sports as a portfolio of startups deploying past profits, with individual businesses given 18-24 months of runway.
- **2026-03** — Dream Sports said roughly 700 employees had been assigned to new startups and around 15% chose to leave following the restructuring.
- **2025-11** — Jain promoted Dream Horizon, an open-source initiative sharing infrastructure developed for Dream11, on LinkedIn.

## Links

- Website: https://www.dreamsports.group/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/harshj22/
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/harshjain85
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/harshjain85/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/harsh-jain
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-25