Bengaluru, October 2, 2023 – Dunzo, the Bengaluru-based hyperlocal delivery startup, is facing a major shakeup as its co-founder, Dalvir Suri, announces his departure from the company during a critical liquidity crisis. Suri, who played a pivotal role in steering Dunzo’s growth for more than six years, has been on a leave of absence in recent weeks and is now set to move on to new endeavors.
CEO Kabeer Biswas broke the news to employees via email on Monday morning, but provided limited details about how the company plans to restructure itself in the wake of Suri’s exit.
The company has been struggling to strike a deal in the past few months and has announced at least three rounds of layoffs. Other than trimming its workforce, the company also deferred or reduced salaries for some employees as well as reduced 50% of its dark stores.
Dunzo Hit by Major Shake up and Financial Crisis
Dalvir Suri joined Dunzo in May 2015, a year after its inception, and later took the helm of Dunzo Merchant Services (DMS), the company’s business-to-business unit. Biswas acknowledged Suri’s substantial contributions, stating, “Dalvir has been instrumental in building out every new line of business at Dunzo. He has been the key ‘zero to one’ person from the founding team that just gets things done.”
Biswas also revealed that Suri had expressed his intention to take a break for some time and explore new opportunities. The departure of Suri, known for his ‘let’s do it’ attitude, is expected to leave a void within the company.
Notably, Suri, along with co-founders Mukund Jha and Ankur Aggarwal, holds no equity in Dunzo, which is currently backed by Reliance Retail. Kabeer Biswas owns 3.57% of the company, as per data from Tracxn. In a recent development, Dunzo partnered with payroll financing firm OneTap to disburse salaries for August, awaiting fresh funding to stabilize its financial situation.
OneTap, a registered non-banking financing corporation (NBFC) operated by Capital Trade Links Limited and listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), will ensure that Dunzo employees receive their salaries without any interest or repayment obligations.
The delivery platform has not yet disclosed the exact departure date of Dalvir Suri or named a replacement. The company is currently in advanced discussions to secure a funding round of $25 million to $30 million, which would increase Reliance Retail’s stake in Dunzo to 25.8%, as reported by Moneycontrol last week. The funding round is seen as a crucial step to help the company weather its current financial challenges.
