Swiggy Instamart creator Karthik Gurumurthy to quit, start own venture
What's the story
Karthik Gurumurthy, Swiggy's Senior Vice-President (SVP), is leaving the food delivery behemoth to launch his own start-up, Moneycontrol has reported.
Gurumurthy, the creator of Swiggy Instamart, took a break in March but came back in May to lead Swiggy Mall, previously known as Swiggy Maxx.
His new venture is rumored to be in the offline realm, resembling the affordable brick-and-mortar store concept of Germany's Aldi.
Details
Gurumurthy's expertise and funding for his new venture
Gurumurthy's proficiency in food and fruits and vegetables (F&V) is apparent from his involvement with Swiggy Instamart, making him a desirable candidate for venture capital.
In recent months, he has held discussions with VC firms such as Matrix and Accel to finance his project, Convenio, though the name might change later.
Gurumurthy had alluded to his plans in a LinkedIn post earlier, expressing his desire to "come back afresh and build something (0-1)."
What Next?
Top-level exits at Swiggy and Gurumurthy's replacement
Gurumurthy's departure adds to the growing number of high-profile exits at Swiggy.
Dale Vaz, the company's CTO, left to establish his own start-up, securing funding from Accel among others. In May, Ashish Lingamneni, VP and head of brand and product marketing departed after nearly six years.
His departure came after Nishad Kenkre's exit as VP and head of revenue and growth for Instamart.
In the meantime, Swiggy has brought onboard Dipak Krishnamani, a former Amazon executive, to lead Swiggy Mall.