Pepperfry co-founder Ambareesh Murty dies of cardiac arrest

Ambareesh Murty, Pepperfry co-founder, died of a cardiac arrest in Leh. (Image: @AmbareeshMurty/Twitter)

Pepperfry co-founder Ambareesh Murty has died of a cardiac arrest in Leh, Ashish Shah, another co-founder of the online furniture store announced in a tweet. He was 51.

"Extremely devastated to inform that my friend, mentor, brother, soulmate @AmbareeshMurty 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," Shah wrote.

Extremely devastated to inform that my friend, mentor, brother, soulmate @AmbareeshMurty 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.

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— Ashish Shah (@TweetShah) August 8, 2023

"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," Swati Bhargava, an entrepreneur, wrote on Twitter.

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.

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RIP @AmbareeshMurty

Condolences to the team and family. Prayers for the… https://t.co/oOqsn2OaBC

— Rajiv Srivatsa (@telljeeves) August 8, 2023

Murty ventured into the financial sector, gracing Prudential ICICI AMC (now ICICI Prudential) with his expertise. His role as VP Marketing and Customer Service lasted nearly two years.

A brief stint of five months at Levi's followed and it was during this time he embarked on his own venture, Origin Resources. This portal, tailored to aid Indian mutual fund companies.

He shuttered the start-up in 2005 and joined Britannia as a marketing manager.

Seven months later, Murty joined eBay India and was the country manager for the Philippines, Malaysia, and India. Six years later, Murty started Pepperfry in June 2011 along with Ashish Shah.

Pepperfry is an online marketplace that sells home furniture and other products. The Mumbai-based startup raised its first round of capital in December 2011 from Norwest Venture Partners which cut a $5 million check.

Pepperfry then went on to raise close to a total of $240 million from a clutch of investors, including Pidilite Ventures, from the makers of Fevicol, Goldman Sachs Investments Partners and several others.

It raised its last round in November 2021, when General Electric, Mukesh Sharma Family Trust and others infused $10 million in the company, data from Tracxn showed. It was valued at about $460 million when in its last round.

The startup competes with Home Centre, Urban Ladder, Furlenco, Wakefit and others.