When it comes to names in the Indian startup scene, one that stands out is Ritesh Agarwal. This young man’s credit carries ambition, creativity, entrepreneurial ideology, and more. He is both founder and CEO of OYO Rooms, which has transformed the way we book budget hotels with its myriad implementations of innovation. With a keen business acumen, Agarwal himself has become a well-known name on the global business scene and at the same time won numerous awards for his performance as one of India’s youngest self-made billionaires. Read on to learn all about him, from early life through his entrepreneurial journey and earlier days until now.

Early Life and Education

Ritesh Agarwal was born in Bissam Cuttack, Odisha, India, on November 16, 1993. As the family ran a shop in the small town of his birth, he inevitably was exposed at an early age to the world of commerce and business, which sparked an interest first in entrepreneurship. His early schooling was completed at St. John’s Senior Secondary School, Delhi. However, as with so many innovative entrepreneurs before him, Ritesh’s educational path took an unconventional turn. 

He enrolled at St. Xavier’s College in Delhi but dropped out as school simply held no appeal to him; his true passion was building businesses! And so began his journey as an entrepreneur, when in 2013 he was selected as the first Indian to ever receive the prestigious Thiel Fellowship. This not only gave him financial backing but also an environment where he could freely pursue his venture full-time.

The Birth of OYO Rooms

In September 2012, Ritesh Agarwal launched OYO Rooms, a hotel budget platform designed to offer travelers affordable stays. The concept was inspired by his experience, which involved years of extensive travel and difficulty finding trustworthy and affordable hotel rooms using any available booking system. Oravell Stays grew quickly and was recognized in 2013 as a Venture Nursery accelerator. 

The following year, Ritesh Agarwal won the Thiel Fellowship and was awarded a $100,000 grant for his company. He jumped right into his new venture with this funding, expanding it to a chain of rooms in May 2013 under his name, OYO Rooms.

OYO’s Journey to Success

The pioneering concept behind OYO Rooms promoted affordable economy hotels while ensuring a consistent level of high standards.

OYO established a universal framework for integrating technology into the hotel industry, enabling consumers to book hotels safely online with confidence that they will receive what they ordered.

Some significant milestones of OYO’s growth include:

2013: Ritesh benefited from receiving the Thiel Fellowship and thus received a $100,000 grant for his start-up, OYO Rooms.

2014 :OYO completed its Series A round of financing and began the launch of OYO Rooms throughout India.

2015: further strengthened its growth with record-breaking rapid growth success and launched an application to streamline hotel bookings and raise $25 Million in Series B and Series A funding.

2015: In the Series C round of financing, SoftBank became the lead investor, raising $100 Million to further develop OYO’s plan for worldwide expansion and beyond.

2016 :OYO surpassed its original one million check-in target in 2016, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (which also represented the initial site of OYO’s international expansion).

2017: OYO entered its first international market beyond India into Nepal.

2018: OYO continued expanding by entering new geographic markets, including the United Kingdom (UK), the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Dubai, China, Singapore, and Indonesia.

2019: After breaking through the 330,000-room mark in 500 cities globally, OYO was ranked as one of the world’s largest hotel chains by number of locations.

By creating a positive climate for customer satisfaction and leveraging technology to its advantage, Ritesh Agarwal has succeeded in raising OYO into a global hospitality brand.

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Ritesh Agarwal’s Net Worth

Ritesh Agarwal’s wealth threshold as of 2025 is no longer fixed at billionaire status; rather, his estimated wealth would fall between $600 million and $1 billion dependent upon the current valuation of the parent company of OYO Rooms, OYO Hotels & Homes, and general market conditions. In early 2020, Ritesh Agarwal was valued at approximately $1.1 billion (~₹7,200 crore), and since then, the hospitality industry has continued to fluctuate, affecting both OYO´s private market value and, thus, Ritesh’s overall wealth.

Ritesh Agarwal continues to be regarded as one of India’s youngest and most successful self-made entrepreneurs and continues to be one of the top influencers on a global level. Ritesh Agarwal’s overall wealth is dependent on OYO’s long-term performance, expansion strategy, and plans for an initial public offering. As it continues to restructure the company and increase its global presence, Ritesh Agarwal’s wealth will continue to evolve along with the overall growth of OYO.

Awards and Recognitions

Ritesh Agarwal’s accomplishments in entrepreneurism have been recognised all around the world. Here are some of the impressive accolades and recognitions he has received:

• Thiel Fellowship (2013): the first resident Asian to win the award.
• In 2013, TATA First Dot Awards recognised one of the Top 50 Entrepreneurs in the year.
• Tie-Lumis Entrepreneurial Excellence Award (2014).
• Under the Consumer Tech Sector, he is listed as one of Forbes 30 Under 30.
• Business World: He won the Young Entrepreneur Award.

These honours cement Ritesh’s position as one of the brightest entrepreneurship minds in India and perhaps even globally.

Ritesh Agarwal Educational and Learning Path

A fascinating blend of formal education and fresh business experience characterises Ritesh Agarwal’s educational and learning journey. His decision to leave St. Xavier’s College completely, pursue his dream, and start OYO was courageous. This illustrates that a person’s accomplishments are not always determined by their university education and that sometimes the best perspectives come from the school of hard knocks. 

During his time at the Thiel Fellowship, Ritesh received crucial training in business strategy, including how to handle rapid growth and scale a tech-driven company. This helped him get around some issues when constructing OYO.

Ritesh Agarwal’s works

Ritesh Agarwal is also an author. He has penned books that range from self-development to business insights:

“Indian Engineering at all levels: A Complete Encyclopaedia of the Top 200 Engineering Colleges”.

The four OYO books extend the focus on entrepreneurship with his versatile talents outside capitalism.

Podcast: Sharing the Insights Of Ritesh Agarwal

In many interviews, Ritesh Agarwal has shared his journey as an entrepreneur and how he built OYO. He also talked about it on podcasts, such as an episode with Anand Daniel, a partner at Accel, in the #INSIGHTSPodcast2019 series, to discuss how OYO grew to be a hotel industry behemoth on a global scale. This podcast episode provides a glimpse into Ritesh’s vision, leadership, and strategies for turning a start-up into a decacorn (a firm valued at $10 billion or more.

Ritesh Agarwal: Global Entrepreneur

Ritesh Agarwal is now regarded as one of India’s most prosperous businessmen. With its tech-driven strategy and dedication to quality, his company, OYO Rooms, is still upending the global hospitality sector. Ritesh has proven via his journey that young businesspeople with the correct mindset, perseverance, and risk-taking attitude can make a big difference in the world.

Conclusion

It was a long trip from his hometown to founding a $1.1 billion business, but Ritesh Agarwal’s determination and personal leadership shine through all the more brightly. OYO Rooms has not only disrupted hospitality but also shown how technology has the power to remake traditional industries. And with his zeal for scaling the business and intimate knowledge of business strategy, Ritesh Agarwal is poised to be even more influential on an international basis for business people.