Pepperfry co-founder and chief executive officer Ambareesh Murty died of a cardiac arrest in Leh, Ladakh on the night of 7 August. He was 51.
"Extremely devastated to inform that my friend, mentor, brother, 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," Pepperfry co-founder Ashish Shah tweeted on Tuesday morning.
An avid biker, trekker and a physical sports enthusiast, Murty rode from Mumbai to Leh.
A graduate from Delhi College of Engineering and an IIM Calcutta alumnus, he co-founded the omnichannel home furniture company with Shah in Mumbai in 2012.
Before Pepperfry, Murty was associated with eBay from 2008 and has worked in India, Philippines and Malaysia.
He began his corporate career as a management trainee with Cadbury India in the company’s marketing and sales division in 1996. Later, he also worked with ICICI Prudential AMC and had a brief stint of about five months as a brand leader at Levi Strauss India.
In 2003, Murty forayed into entrepreneurship with Origin Resource, a financial training venture for mutual funds, but shut shop two years later and returned to corporate life, joining Britannia as a marketing manager.
Post that, he met Shah and co-founded Pepperfry with him in 2012.
Condolences poured in on Twitter from entrepreneurs and investors post Murty’s demise.
"So sad & shocking to hear of Ambareesh Murty's sudden demise due to cardiac arrest. May his soul rest in peace. An amazing entrepreneur & inspiration to many... may his legacy with Pepperfry live on. RIP," wrote Swati Bhargava, co-founder of fintech platform CashKaro.
Rajiv Srivatsa, partner at Antler Global tweeted, “This is shocking. It's tough enough to be an entrepreneur. It's tougher to be one in a category like furniture and building the brand Pepperfry across a decade. Have heard great things about him. RIP Ambareesh Murty. Condolences to the team and family. Prayers for the strength to all those involved.”
Pepperfry, an ominchannel furniture retailer, is backed by Norwest Venture Partners, Goldman Sachs, Bertelsmann India Investments, State Street Global Advisors and Fevicol’s parent company, Pidilite Industries. So far, the company has raised around $245.3 million (around Rs 1,770 crore) since its inception.
It raised its last round in November 2021, when General Electric, Mukesh Sharma Family Trust and others invested $10 million in the company. Reports suggest it was valued at about $460 million in its last round.
The startup competes with Home Centre, Urban Ladder, Furlenco and others.
