Karthik Gurumurthy Returns Money To Investors, Stalls Offline Venture Plan: Report

Karthik Gurumurthy, the architect behind Swiggy Instamart who helped scale the vertical from scratch in 2020 to a nearly $1 Bn valuation, has reportedly returned the money he raised from a host of investors, including Matrix Partners India. This move signals a halt to his plans for launching a new offline venture.

However, Gurumurthy is already working on a fresh plan and building a new startup, Moneycontrol reported, citing sources close to the matter. 

The new venture is still in a stealth mode and more details are expected soon.

Inc42 has reached out to Gurumurthy for a comment on the development. The story will be updated based on his response.

Earlier this year, it was reported that Gurumurthy secured a funding of $3 Mn (around INR 25 Cr) for his new offline retail venture led by Matrix Partners India and a clutch of angel investors.

Gurumurthy’s new venture was named Convenio, similar to what Aldi, a low-cost physical store model, does in Germany, the UK and other parts of Europe, to sell only fresh produce. It was supposed to mirror Swiggy, in offline space.

In November last year, it was reported that Gurumurthy was set to depart Swiggy to launch his own startup. This announcement came months after Gurumurthy went on a sabbatical in March and subsequently returned to lead the foodtech major’s hyperlocal commerce arm, Swiggy Mall, formerly known as Swiggy Maxx.

An alumnus of BITS Pilani and the Indian Institute of Management-Bangalore, Gurumurthy has also worked with global consulting firm Kearney, confectionery major Mondelez International, and software giant Oracle.

However, the move to halt the offline venture comes at a time when more people are moving towards quick commerce platforms for grocery delivery. Last week, quick commerce major Zepto raised a funding of $665 Mn at a valuation of $3.6 Bn, more than double from its last valuation of $1.4 Bn.

Recently, Zomato also said that it is planning to invest INR 300 Cr in Blinkit. 

Moreover, JioMart, the digital commerce arm of RIL’s retail subsidiary Reliance Retail, is likely to begin delivering groceries in select cities in under 30 minutes soon, which will increase the competition in grocery segment. Ecommerce giant Flipkart is also gearing up to enter the quick commerce space.