MX Player has announced that Nikhil Gandhi has decided to step down as the company’s Chief Operating Officer (COO) to pursue other interests.

His appointment as COO in August 2021 was in line with the company’s strategy to drive growth and efficiency. Gandhi worked closely with MX Player, Chief Executive Officer, Karan Bedi and was responsible for taking the platforms to their next phase of growth by expanding its geographical reach, enhancing data-driven innovation, growing the scope and scale of revenue streams, and building maximum impact for internal and external stakeholders, the company said.

“Thanks to Nikhil's contributions, the company is in a strong position, and we are confident that our team, values and talent will continue to thrive, improve business synergy and create even more valuable organizational depth. We sincerely thank Nikhil for his leadership and meaningful contribution in MX Player's growth and success and we wish him well in his future endeavors,” says Karan Bedi.

The development has come at a time when the OTT player’s parent company Times Internet is in talks with Amazon for the sale of MX Player. 

Karan Bedi is likely to benefit substantially from the sale proceeds. How much and whether other senior execs will also get is currently not known.

“I am proud of all that we have accomplished during my tenure at MX Player. I am especially grateful to Karan and the extraordinary team who worked alongside me to introduce new revenue growth drivers and create so many impactful and digital experiences for our users and stakeholders. I wish them all the best,” shares Nikhil Gandhi.

Gandhi joined the platform in August 2021. He had earlier served as TikTok’s Head of Middle East, Africa, Turkey & South Asia. He joined TikTok as its India head in October 2019.

Based out of Mumbai and Singapore for this role, Nikhil was responsible for taking the MX Player to its next phase of growth by expanding its geographical reach, enhancing data-driven innovation, growing the scope and scale of revenue streams, and building maximum impact for all stakeholders like consumers, advertisers, or internal teams across verticals.

Amazon's acquisition of MX Player has the potential to make India’s OTT war intense.

“The deal size is roughly USD 100 million, USD 40 million less than what Times Internet invested in MX Player at the time of acquisition,” sources claimed.

If the deal really goes through, then Amazon Prime Video is set to grow four times bigger in terms of consumer acquisition. Amazon has an estimated 28 million users in India while MX Player has nearly 78 million users.