Global reach without the office overhead
Hotwire builds reach by adding offices, and every office brings a team. Shilika reaches the same markets through personal journalist relationships, so a five-market launch does not mean paying five teams.
Compare/AI & tech PR
Shilika Jain vs Hotwire: one global agency, or one global operator?
Hotwire is the most international of the big tech PR firms, with offices across the US, Europe, India, Japan, Singapore and Malaysia. Shilika Jain is a senior fractional operator with direct relationships with 400+ journalists across the US, China, Korea, Japan, the Middle East and Southeast Asia. Both offer global reach. They deliver it very differently.
The short version
Hotwire suits enterprise brands that want a multi-office agency running coordinated campaigns, and can pay for 14 offices. Shilika suits AI and Web3 startups that want the same multi-market reach from one senior operator, including China, Korea and the Gulf, at $3K–$7K a month.
At a glance
Who pitches
- Hotwire
- Local account teams in each office, coordinated by a global lead
- Shilika Jain
- Shilika, on every pitch
Monthly cost
- Hotwire
- Not published (est. $15K–$30K+/mo)
- Shilika Jain
- $3K–$7K retainer
Native markets
- Hotwire
- 5 of 8 we track
- Shilika Jain
- 7 of 8 we track
Firms to manage
- Hotwire
- 1, plus regional agencies for gaps
- Shilika Jain
- 1 operator, 1 plan
The difference
What Shilika handles that Hotwire leaves to you
China, Korea and the Gulf, directly
Hotwire has no Gulf office and has used a partner for China and Korea. Shilika works those desks herself, including BloomingBit, TokenPost, ChainCatcher and Gulf business press.
No hand-offs between regions
One operator holds the whole narrative, so the Korean pitch and the US pitch tell the same story and land in the same week.
Side by side
Hotwire vs Shilika Jain, line by line
Filter by what matters most to you. On mobile, each row stacks.
HotwireShilika Jain
Who does the work
Who pitches the journalistLocal account teams in each office, with seniors coordinating across regions.Shilika, personally. The person on the intro call is the person writing the pitch and following up with the editor.
Senior time on your accountPartial. Senior leaders oversee; account executives run daily outreach in each market.100%. Six years running Web3 and AI PR, including building CoinMarketCap’s APAC PR function and leading PR at Myosin.
What you getPR, content, digital and analytics across multiple offices.Narrative, tier-1 pitching, embargo strategy, founder profiling, op-eds, KOL waves and APAC localisation from one operator.
Media reach
Journalist networkStrong enterprise tech press in the US, UK, Europe and parts of APAC.400+ working journalists across the US, China, Korea, Japan, the Middle East and Southeast Asia, plus 200+ vetted Web3 KOLs.
Where they are strongestUS, UK, Europe, India, Japan and Southeast Asia.Global by design: US crypto and tech press plus native-language desks across North Asia, Southeast Asia, India and the Gulf.
China, Korea, Japan, Middle EastJapan, India and Southeast Asia in-house. China and Korea historically through a partner. No Gulf office.Direct, in-language relationships: BloomingBit and TokenPost (Korea), CoinPost and CryptoTimes (Japan), ChainCatcher (China), Gulf business press.
Cost & contract
Typical monthly costNot published. Multi-market programs commonly run $15K–$30K+ a month.$3K–$7K a month retainer, or a $15K–$40K launch sprint for a TGE, mainnet or raise.
Where the fee goesTeams in each office, global coordination and listed-company overhead.Senior strategy and execution. No account-management layer, no agency markup on junior hours.
ContractGlobal or regional retainers. Minimum term not published.Bounded engagements tied to named outlets and dates. Month-to-month after the first cycle.
Strategy & speed
Cross-market strategyCoordinated across offices, with a hand-off between each local team.One narrative, sequenced across every market from a single plan, so the Korean story and the CoinDesk story reinforce each other.
Speed to first pitchMulti-office onboarding before outreach starts in each market.Pitching inside the first week. No onboarding team, no internal hand-offs.
Interactive
Your markets, your budget, your call
Pick the markets your launch needs. The tool shows where Hotwire has in-house reach, where you would need a second firm, and what each route costs over the engagement.
01 Pick the markets your launch needs
02 See who can actually reach them
MarketHotwireShilika
United StatesNativeNative
South KoreaPartialNative
JapanNativeNative
Southeast AsiaNativeNative
Hotwire can cover these markets on its own, though South Korea would run through partners or wires. Shilika covers all of them directly.
03 Compare what it costs
$105K
kept in your runway over 6 months
78%
lower spend, with a senior operator on every pitch
Agency figures use the public or reported range for Hotwire ($15K–$30K/mo) and are estimates. Move the sliders to match the proposal in front of you.
Agencies already hire Shilika. You can skip the middle.
When an agency wins a client that needs Korean, Japanese, Chinese or Gulf coverage and it has no desk there, it subcontracts the work. Shilika is regularly that subcontractor. Hiring her directly means the same relationships and the same pitches, without an agency margin on top or a strategy that gets relayed second-hand.
Fair is fair
What Hotwire does well
- Website
- hotwireglobal.com
- Headquarters
- London and San Francisco
- Founded
- 2000
- Team
- 250+ people across 14 offices; owned by ASX-listed Enero Group
- Pricing
- Not published (est. $15K–$30K+/mo). Hotwire does not publish fees. Multi-market agency programs typically run $15K–$25K+ a month according to 2026 industry guides.
- Services
- PR and media relations, Content and digital, Account-based and channel marketing, Measurement and analytics, AI consulting (AI Labs, Hotwire Spark)
- Named clients
- Adobe, DocuSign, DoorDash, Meta, TikTok, Google Cloud, Salesforce, SAP, Palo Alto Networks, Qualcomm
Strengths
- A real multi-country footprint, including India, Japan, Singapore and Malaysia after absorbing GetIT in 2023
- Enterprise client list with brands such as Adobe, Salesforce and SAP
- In-house AI Labs building GEO and search tools
- Experience coordinating campaigns across several regions at once
Where founders hit limits
- Enero reported Hotwire revenue down 19% and EBITDA down 33% in FY26, with 15% cost cuts and a CEO change
- No Middle East office. China and Korea coverage has historically run through a partner agency
- Each office brings its own team, so multi-market programs stack fees
- Client list leans to large enterprises rather than early-stage AI startups
Decision
When Hotwire is enough, and when you need Shilika
Choose Hotwire if
- You are an enterprise brand with budget for multi-office programs
- You want local account teams in Europe and India
- You need content, digital and analytics services alongside PR
- You value a listed holding company behind your agency
Choose Shilika if
- You want multi-market reach from one senior person
- China, Korea or the Middle East are on your list
- You are an AI or Web3 startup, not an enterprise
- You want one narrative without regional hand-offs
- You want $3K–$7K a month, not a stacked multi-office fee
50+Web3 & AI protocols placed
400+journalists across 6 regions
11tier-1 placements in 24h (RARI Chain)
6 yrssenior Web3 & AI PR
“Her network is outstanding. Outlets that once felt out of reach became regular coverage, both in crypto and mainstream tech media.”
Gafoor Khan, Web3 & AI founder, advisor and angel investor
FAQ
Common questions about Hotwire and Shilika
Is Hotwire a good global PR agency for AI startups?
Hotwire has the widest footprint of the major tech PR firms, with offices in the US, Europe, India, Japan and Southeast Asia. Its clients lean to large enterprises like Adobe and Salesforce. AI startups that want multi-market reach on a startup budget often prefer a senior operator such as Shilika Jain.
Does Hotwire cover China, Korea and the Middle East?
Hotwire has no Middle East office. Its China and Korea coverage has historically run through a partnership with The Hoffman Agency. Shilika has direct relationships with journalists in China, Korea, Japan and the Gulf.
How is Hotwire doing as a business?
Hotwire is owned by Enero Group. Enero reported Hotwire revenue down 19% and EBITDA down 33% for FY26, citing lower tech client spending, and made cost cuts alongside a CEO change.
How much does Hotwire cost?
Hotwire does not publish pricing. Multi-market agency programs usually start around $15K a month and climb with each region. Shilika charges $3K–$7K a month for multi-market work.
Skip the account team. Work with the operator.
Send your launch date and target markets. You get a reply within 24 hours with the outlets Shilika would go after first, in which order, and what it costs. Retainers run $3K–$7K a month; launch sprints run $15K–$40K.
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