Startup Community Mourns The Loss Of Pepperfry Cofounder Ambareesh Murty

Ambareesh Murty, the cofounder and CEO of the D2C furniture brand Pepperfry, passed away on Monday (August 7) after suffering a cardiac arrest.

Murty reached Leh ahead of a company offsite. There, he had called the team for the offsite but suffered a cardiac arrest before the team reached. Murty was said to be an avid high-altitude biker.

Pepperfry cofounder and COO Ashish Shah confirmed the news in a post on X (Twitter).

“Extremely devastated to inform that my friend, mentor, brother, (and) soulmate, Ambareesh Murty is no more. Lost him yesterday night to a cardiac arrest at Leh. Please pray for him and for strength to his family and near ones,” said Shah in the post.

Murty began his career with Cadbury in sales and marketing, followed by a stint with ICICI Prudential as VP of marketing and customer service. Before founding Pepperfry, he was the country manager of eBay in India, the Philippines and Malaysia. During his tenure with eBay, he also served as the vice chairman of the Internet And Mobile Association of India (IAMAI). 

Previously, he was the brand leader of Levi Strauss India, responsible for product development, marketing, and retail strategies for the brand. His stint with Britannia Industries as the marketing manager-mass markets involved him being responsible for segment P&L and strategy definition.

Ambareesh holds a BE from the Delhi College of Engineering and an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta.

Since his untimely passing, tributes have poured in from the startup ecosystem. Swati Bhargava, the cofounder of CashKaro.com, posted on X.

Antler’s Rajiv Srivatsa offered condolences to the Pepperfry team and the Murty family.

Droom and ShopClues founder Sandeep Aggarwal also expressed his shock on Murty’s untimely demise.

Ambareesh Murty and Ashish Shah cofounded Pepperfry in 2012 and took the platform to one of India’s largest furniture startups. The IPO-bound startup has raised $245.3 Mn in funding and posted operating revenue of INR 247 Cr for the financial year 2021-22 (FY22).

Pepperfry counts Goldman Sachs, Norwest Venture Partners, Bertelsmann India Investments and State Street Global Advisors as its investors.

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