Samir Bangara, a former executive of The Walt Disney Company’s India arm and the founder of Qyuki Digital Media Pvt. Ltd, has died in a road accident.
The accident took place when Bangara’s motorbike collided with a truck near Haloli in Maharashtra’s Manor on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad national highway, The Indian Express reported, citing police officials.
Bangara—who was riding alone—was rushed to a hospital, where he was declared dead on admission. Police have registered a case in the matter and have begun investigations, the report said. He is survived by his wife and two children.
“We lost our friend, visionary commander in chief and a super-good human being…RIP,” composer and Qyuki co-founder AR Rahman tweeted. Other music industry veterans and personalities from India’s business and political spectrum such as composer Vishal Dadlani and aviation minister Hardeep Singh Puri also mourned his death.
Bangara, an alumnus of the University of Mumbai, worked for organisations including ILFS Investment Managers, Ernst & Young and Indiagames. He then took on the role of managing director (digital) for Walt Disney India.
He co-founded Qyuki Digital in 2010 along with Rahman and filmmaker Shekhar Kapur. The company focussed on helping creators in the music and film industries monetise their content.
In February, the company became the debut investment for Info Edge Venture Fund, the investment vehicle of the company behind internet portals Naukri and Jeevansathi. The fund invested Rs 18 crore ($2.5 million) in Qyuki.
Bangara was also an active angel investor. He has backed companies functioning in sectors such as consumer goods, consumer internet, electric vehicles, transportation, and mobile and social games.
According to VCCEdge, the data research arm of Mosaic Digital, Bangara’s portfolio included Bucketbolt Commerce Pvt. Ltd, Am Edupedia Pvt. Ltd, Playblazer Inc. and SilverEdge Technologies Pvt. Ltd.
