Sunil Mittal

1976–1989: Early ventures

Mittal began his career in 1976, founding Bharti Enterprises with a ₹20,000 investment to manufacture bicycle crankshafts in Ludhiana.^[14][15] He subsequently diversified into the production of shoddy yarn and stainless steel sheets.^[16] In 1980, he established Bharti Overseas Trading Company to import industrial materials and consumer products^[16][17] and in 1981, began importing and distributing Suzuki portable generators. This business ceased in 1983 following government restrictions on generator imports.^[18][19][20]

In the mid-1980s, Mittal transitioned to the telecommunications sector after identifying a market for push-button telephones, which were then uncommon in India.^[21][19] Initially he imported kits for local assembly and introduced India's first push-button phones under the "Mitbrau" brand. He subsequently founded Bharti Telecom Limited (BTL) in 1985.^[19] Through a technical partnership with Siemens AG, the company began manufacturing electronic push-button phones under the "Beetel" brand.^[22][19] By 1989, BTL had established a manufacturing facility in Ludhiana and had become one of India's largest domestic telephone producers, with an annual capacity of 200,000 units.^[23][24]

1990–2009: Telecommunications and diversification

In 1990, Bharti expanded its equipment manufacturing through partnerships with Lucky Goldstar and Takacom to produce cordless phones and answering machines, through its Beetel brand. ^[25]The company shifted toward telecommunications services in 1992, forming a consortium with SFR, Emtel, and MSI to bid for mobile licenses in Indian metropolitan circles.^[26][27] Following the grant of a license, Bharti launched GSM services in Delhi in 1995 under the Airtel brand.^[19] The company's international expansion began in 1998 with the launch of mobile services in the Seychelles.

Singtel acquired a stake in Bharti for US$400 million in 2000,^[16] which coincided with the launch of the "IndiaOne" service to reduce long-distance tariffs.^[28] In February 2002, Bharti went public and launched India's first 100% book-built initial public offering (IPO); around the same time its mobile subscriber base reached two million.^[23] During this period, the company expanded beyond voice services into data and enterprise sectors and introduced BlackBerry to the Indian market.^[29] In 2004, Bharti Airtel entered a landmark outsourcing model partnering with IBM and Ericsson,^[30] for network management, enabling it to scale rapidly while focusing on its core business. By 2005, Airtel was operational in all 23 Indian telecom circles.^[31]

In 2007, Bharti partnered with Walmart to enter the Indian retail market^[32] and established the financial services venture Bharti AXA.^[16] That same year, the group reached the 50 million customer milestone, becoming one of the top five mobile operators globally.^[33] Bharti Infratel was formed as a subsidiary for tower infrastructure in 2007. In 2012, Mittal took Bharti Infratel public, raising $760 million. This entity later in 2020 merged Indus Towers to create a mega tower company, along with Vodafone Group.^[34] The UK Group held 28.12% stake, while Bharti Airtel owned 36.7%.

In 2008 and 2009, Mittal entered two rounds of merger negotiations with South Africa's MTN Group, although, the discussions did not culminate in a deal. During the same period, Bharti Airtel continued to strengthen its international presence and, in 2009, launched its 2G and 3G services in Sri Lanka.^[35]

2010–2019: Global scaling and legal proceedings

In 2010, Bharti acquired Zain Group's mobile operations in 15 African countries for US$10.7 billion^[36][37] and acquired a 70% stake in Bangladesh's Warid Telecom. In 2013, the India retail partnership with Walmart was dissolved due to regulatory challenges.^[38] In the same year, Bharti Airtel acquired Warid Congo^[39][40] and established Nxtra Data Limited as its data-center arm.^[41]

That same year, Mittal was asked to appear before a Delhi court in connection with an investigation into spectrum allocations. The summon was subsequently quashed by the Supreme Court.

By 2015, Bharti Airtel was the third-largest mobile operator globally by subscriber base.^[42] That year, Bharti became a founding investor in OneWeb, acquiring a strategic minority stake as part of a global consortium.^[43] In 2016, Airtel Payments Bank became the first entity in India to receive a payments bank license from the Reserve Bank of India.^[44] In 2019, Airtel Africa completed a dual listing - on the London and Nigerian Stock Exchanges. It alsoraised US$3.6 billion through a rights issue.^[45]

2020–present: Recent developments

Following OneWeb’s 2020 bankruptcy filing, Mittal led a successful US$1 billion consortium with the UK government to acquire the company and later became its Executive Chairman.^[46] Under his leadership, OneWeb completed its LEO satellite constellation via launches using Russian Soyuz flights and a rocket from the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).^[47]

In 2023, OneWeb merged with Eutelsat, with Bharti as the largest shareholder and Mittal as Co-Chair.^[48] That year, Bharti consolidated its insurance business by acquiring AXA's 49% stake, making Bharti Life Ventures Private Limited (BLVPL) the sole owner of the company. As of 2026, Prudential Plc has agreed to acquire a majority stake in Bharti Life Insurance.^[49] A year earlier, in 2022, Bharti Airtel initiated its 5G rollout in India and secured a US$1 billion investment from Google.^[50][51]

In 2023, Brookfield and Bharti Enterprises closed a deal, valued at approximately ₹5,000 crore, for four marquee commercial properties, including Worldmark assets located in Delhi Aerocity and Gurugram.^[52]

In 2024, Bharti Hexacom was listed through a ₹4,275-crore IPO.^[53] The same year, Mittal's Bharti Televentures UK acquired a 24.95% stake in the BT Group Plc.^[1] In 2025, Bharti emerged as the second-largest shareholder in Sundrop Brands, a listed FMCG entity formed following the combination of Sundrop Brands Limited and Del Monte Foods, India.^[54]

In March 2026, Sunil Bharti Mittal announced that he will transition from his role as Chairman of Airtel Africa in July 2026.^[55]