# Mohit Bhende

> Mohit “Mo” Bhende is the Seattle-based CEO and co-founder of Karat, which he started with Jeffrey Spector in 2014. A Penn State graduate, Gates Cambridge Scholar and Wharton MBA, he previously co-founded Topic Magazine and worked at Microsoft, including its China Fund and Xbox. His work focuses on structured technical interviews, candidate access and the evaluation of engineering skills.

- **Role:** CEO & Co-founder at Karat
- **Organizations:** Karat, Microsoft, Topic Magazine, Oliver Wyman, Bates White, Schreyer Honors College Alumni Society Board
- **Nationality:** American (listed as a US citizen in the Gates Cambridge 2007 yearbook)
- **Education:** BS with Honors, mathematics and economics, Pennsylvania State University, MPhil in economics; Gates Cambridge Scholar, University of Cambridge, Trinity Hall, MBA, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
- **Known for:** Gates Cambridge Scholar, 2001 cohort., Co-founded Topic Magazine, which reached more than 20,000 readers., Co-founded Karat in 2014; the company reported more than 600,000 interviews in December 2025.

## Career timeline

- **2001** — Graduated from Penn State and began Cambridge study as a Gates Scholar; co-founded Topic Magazine.
- **Before Microsoft** — Worked at Bates White as a quantitative analyst and Oliver Wyman as a management consultant.
- **Before Xbox** — Managed Microsoft’s $200 million Corporate China Fund while based in Beijing.
- **2010-2013** — Led global product strategy for Xbox at Microsoft.
- **2014** — Co-founded Karat with Jeffrey Spector.
- **2021** — Karat launched Brilliant Black Minds and raised a $110 million Series C at a $1.1 billion valuation.
- **2022** — Serena Williams invested in Karat to support Brilliant Black Minds.
- **2025** — Karat acquired Byteboard in January and launched NextGen Interviews in December.

## Achievements

- Gates Cambridge Scholar, 2001 cohort.
- Co-founded Topic Magazine, which reached more than 20,000 readers.
- Co-founded Karat in 2014; the company reported more than 600,000 interviews in December 2025.
- Led Karat through its October 2021 $110 million Series C round.

## Latest updates

- **2026-04** — Karat published operational lessons from its AI-enabled NextGen interview system.
- **2025-12** — Karat launched NextGen Interviews, with an integrated AI assistant and live expert interviewers.
- **2025-01** — Karat acquired Byteboard to expand skills-based technical assessment.

## Links

- Website: https://karat.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mohit-bhende-4358b2/
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/mobhende

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/mohit-bhende
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-12