New Delhi, Sep 5 (IANS): Online furniture store Pepperfry on Tuesday elevated its co-founder Ashish Shah to the position of Chief Executive Officer (CEO), as its co-founder and CEO Ambareesh Murthy passed away at age 51 due to cardiac arrest last month.

The company also secured $23 million in funding from existing shareholders, including institutional investors and family offices, underscoring their confidence in the company’s vision and strategic plans for the future.

As the COO of the company, Shah played a pivotal role in shaping Pepperfry's customer-centric strategy, supply side strengths, and operational excellence.

"Pepperfry remains focused on its mission to provide a wide array of well-designed products to help customers create inspiring and functional living spaces. The best tribute to Ambareesh will be to build on the foundation laid by us and fortify Pepperfry's position as India’s leading furniture and home products company," said Shah.

The latest round of capital infusion will strengthen Pepperfry’s ability to cater to the evolving needs of its over 10 million and increasing customer base through a strong omnichannel presence, a robust supply chain, and tech-driven innovation.

Pepperfry said it will reiterate its fundamental proposition of variety and leverage its retail footprint of more than 190 Studios in over 100 cities.

Last month, Murthy passed away at the age of 51 due to cardiac arrest in Leh.

"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 had announced in a post on X.

Murty co-founded Pepperfry with Shah in June 2011.

The company’s investors include Pidilite Industries, Goldman Sachs, Norwest Venture Partners, Bertelsmann India, State Street Advisors, and InnoVen Capital, among others.