HYBE, the South Korean entertainment powerhouse behind global K-pop juggernauts like BTS, SEVENTEEN, LE SSERAFIM, and ENHYPEN, is gearing up for its next major international push — and this time, it’s India in the spotlight.
HYBE India officially launched their presence online on November 3, 2025, opening their social channels with the tagline “where Indian voices become global stories.” Earlier reports stated that the Seoul-based company initially confirmed plans to officially enter the Indian market in the second half of 2025, which stated that the new subsidiary was slated to launch between September and October.
The move is one that aligns with the label’s “multi-home, multi-genre” strategy — a blueprint for global dominance that blends local culture with K-pop’s data-driven artist development model. “We’re actively conducting market research and working on the logistics for the Indian subsidiary,” a HYBE spokesperson said in a press statement, noting that the expansion is “driven by Chairman Bang Si-Hyuk’s vision to export K-pop methodologies globally.”
The India launch follows the company’s recent moves in China and Latin America, building on HYBE’s increasingly decentralized operational model. The company has established a presence in key music territories including the U.S., Japan, and Mexico — now positioning India, the world’s most populous country, as the next growth hub.
“Bang’s philosophy has always been that K-pop is more than a genre — it’s a methodology,” the company said in a statement cited by Maeil Business Newspaper. That methodology, as envisioned by Bang, is rooted in leveraging fan-driven engagement and big data to develop “super IP” — artists with massive global appeal and deep fan loyalty.
HYBE’s expansion into the region shouldn’t come as a surprise from a business perspective, given India’s status as the 15th largest recorded music market globally (according to IFPI), which offers both scale and potential. With more than 1.4 billion people and a rapidly growing digital audience, HYBE sees India as fertile ground for applying its proven formula of idol training, fandom building, and high-production content.
This isn’t HYBE’s first foray into adapting K-pop’s core business model to international markets. Last year, the company partnered with Universal Music Group’s Geffen Records to debut KATSEYE, a U.S.-based girl group formed through a reality series. The group’s debut album SIS saw chart success, with lead single “Touch” landing on the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 and spending 13 consecutive weeks on the Global Song Chart.
In a similar hybrid model, HYBE also announced a collaboration with Grammy-winning songwriter-producer Ryan Tedder earlier this year to develop a new boy band, fusing HYBE’s artist development infrastructure with Tedder’s Western pop expertise. Also earlier this April, HYBE Latin America also partnered with Spanish-language network Telemundo to launch Pase a la Fama, a televised talent competition focused on forming the next big Regional Mexican band — a signal of HYBE’s willingness to adapt its playbook to regional genres.
The India venture will likely follow that same localization approach. As one executive put it: “To win globally, you have to go local — and K-pop’s success is built on understanding audiences as deeply as possible.” Should HYBE’s India plans go as projected, the launch will mark its fifth major international expansion outside of Korea, solidifying its position as a formidable challenger to the traditional Big Three global music companies.