Swiggy co-founder Phani Kishan to take over as Instamart head, Karthik Gurumurthy steps aside

Swiggy app

Karthik Gurumurthy, who was heading Swiggy’s quick commerce business Instamart, has stepped aside, with food delivery firm’s co-founder Phani Kishan Addepalli taking over the role.

Addepalli, who also heads the company’s InsanelyGood business, was elevated as co-founder of Swiggy in July 2021, six years after he joined the Bengaluru-based firm. He has also spearheaded SuprDaily, rebranded as InsanelyGood, since October 2021.

In a March 31 post on LinkedIn, Gurumurthy, who is going on a sabbatical, said Instamart was almost a billion-dollar business.

“Today business continues to grow, great relationship with our brand partners and with few of our stores already being profitable, it just feels how the seed germinated into a sampling and is now a big strong tree,” he wrote.

He added that the journey had been arduous, “lot of compromises on physical & mental well being”. Gurumurthy would take on a new role within the organisation in a new business once he returns from his sabbatical.

“I plan to take a sabbatical now to come back afresh and build something (0-1), something which I have loved... Live back and play back that memories of 2020 and 2021,” he said.

“I take this break to rejuvenate myself through this sabbatical (and not because of the 13 Mn$ gap :D).. we value our people a lot and want to build a sports team with a heart,” he added in the comments.

Instamart, which was launched in 2020 and competes with players such as Zomato’s Blinkit and Zepto, has grown rapidly and is Swiggy’s second -largest vertical. The decision comes at a time when Swiggy is looking to cut down costs, two months after it laid off 380 people.

According to Prosus November 2022 report, quick commerce grew 20 times in the first six months of 2022, with GMV at $257 million for that period.

Swiggy’s losses in FY22 had widened to Rs 3,628.9 crore, data from Tofler shows.