Zomato’s co-founder Gaurav Gupta has decided to take an exit from the food tech platform, sources told CNBC-TV18 on Tuesday.

In an internal email, Gupta, who was also the head of supply at Zomato, has said he is 'starting a new chapter' after six years at the food delivery platform. He had joined Zomato in 2015 and was elevated as Chief Operating Officer in 2018 and as founder in 2019.

"I am taking a new turn in my life and will be starting a new chapter, taking a lot from this defining chapter of my life – the last 6 years at Zomato. We have a great team now to take Zomato forward and it’s time for me to take an alternate path in my journey," Gupta wrote in his email.

Along with Zomato's blog in which he shared Gupta's parting email, founder Deepinder Goyal tweeted, "Thank you @grvgpt– the last 6 years have been amazing and we have come very far. There's so much of our journey still ahead of us, and I am thankful that we have a great team and leadership to carry us forward."

Thank you @grvgpta – the last 6 years have been amazing and we have come very far. There's so much of our journey still ahead of us, and I am thankful that we have a great team and leadership to carry us forward.https://t.co/AJAmC5ie6R

— Deepinder Goyal (@deepigoyal) September 14, 2021

Gupta's exit comes days after Zomato shut down its grocery delivery and Nutraceutical business. Zomato had ventured into the nutraceutical business last year with the launch of health and fitness products. According to a Moneycontrol report, the company has decided to shut it at a time when the government is trying to get stricter about private label norms for marketplace businesses in the country.

Meanwhile, the grocery delivery service will stop from September 17 due to gaps in order fulfillment that have led to poor customer experience. The company said it believes that its investment in Grofers will generate better outcomes for its shareholders than in-house grocery efforts.

Apart from founder Goyal, Gupta was the face of the company in the run-up to the stellar IPO in July this year. In an interview post the IPO, Gupta had told CNBC-TV18, “For our business, it is important to understand the opportunity we are tapping today and the opportunity that lies out there. A lot of meals today come from homes and not from restaurants and that is where the real opportunity lies.”

Zomato stock price reacted sharply to the report of Gaurav Gupta’s resignation. The shares plunged from a record high level of Rs 152.75 hit intraday. It touched a low of Rs 136.20, falling over 4 percent from the previous close. At 12:45 pm, the shares of Zomato were trading 1.15 percent lower at Rs 141.55 apiece on the BSE.

(Edited by : Kanishka Sarkar)

First Published:Sept 14, 2021 12:28 PM IST