Meet Amit Jain, Ratan Tata-backed CEO, went bankrupt, now owns Rs 10,000 crore company

CarDekho co-founder and CEO Amit Jain, who was also one of the sharks on Shark Tank India 2, recently opened up about the Rs 1.5 crore loss that he suffered while trading in the share market with his brother. Amit Jain said that the loss made him bankrupt but they did not give up and started again.

"So we lost more than ₹1.5 crore on shares and were bankrupt. Of course, it was a big loss but we knew that we have hands and brains, so we will build it up again," Amit Jain once said in an interview to Indian Express.

It is to be noted that CarDekho CEO Amit Jain is one among the few lucky people in India who can count former Tata Sons chairman Ratan Tata as their mentor. In December 2022, Amit Jain took to LinkedIn to to share a long note dedicated to Ratan Tata on his 85th birthday. Amit Jain called Ratan Tata his ‘lifelong idol’ and ‘mentor’.

“People often talk about Ratan Tata ji’s humility, his composure and his knowledge. I can confirm that that is the way he is, indeed – on top of being an eager listener! Way back in 2015, Ratan Tata ji became a mentor to us as we looked to grow CarDekho into the unicorn it is today. In his decades of experience in the automobile sector, incredible insights and a genuinely warm demeanour, I can confidently say that we found the best mentor we could have hoped for!,” Amit Jain wrote in his post.

“When people say that having a mentor sees more talent and ability within you, than you see in yourself, and helps bring it out of you, they aren’t wrong. Everyone deserves a gentle, guiding hand that both supports you when the going gets tough and pushes you to deliver your best. Just ask the two small-town twinkle-eyed entrepreneurs from Jaipur who knew their life was about to change after they met Ratan Tata ji!,” he added.

Who is Amit Jain?

Born on November 12, 1977, Amit Jain is the CEO and co-founder of CarDekho, Amit Jain, 46, did his schooling at St. Xavier’s School, Jaipur and then studied at IIT Delhi. Amit Jain launched ‘CarDekho’, a leading Car search company, in 2008.

CarDekho's valuation in October 2021 was USD 1.2 billion. The company’s latest post-money valuation is from October 2021.  According to Times of India, Amit Jain’s net worth is around Rs 2,900 crore.