End of an Era for Indus Appstore

Akash Dongre, the co-founder of the PhonePe-owned Indus Appstore, has officially stepped down after more than ten years of building the platform. His departure marks the exit of the final remaining co-founder from the original founding team of what was once Indus OS.

Company Evolution

Founded in 2013 by Akash Dongre, Rakesh Deshmukh, and Sudhir Bangera, the company began as an operating system focused on local language support and content discovery for Indian smartphone users. It saw significant early success, claiming to be the second-largest mobile OS in India by 2016. In 2019, the team shifted its strategic focus toward becoming an indigenous app marketplace.

The PhonePe Era

Following a prolonged legal battle, the company was acquired by fintech giant PhonePe in July 2022. The platform was subsequently rebranded to Indus Appstore and launched in February 2024 as a direct domestic competitor to the Google Play Store, currently supporting 12 Indian languages and English.

Key Milestones

  • User Base: Successfully scaled to over 150 million users.
  • Strategic Partnerships: Secured critical distribution partnerships with Samsung (2019) and Xiaomi India (2025).
  • Formal Launch: Official national rollout at Bharat Mandapam in early 2024.

Founder Takeaways

Dongre’s exit highlights a natural inflection point for founders post-acquisition. His tenure demonstrates the value of hyper-localization in the Indian market, proving that tech platforms can successfully challenge global incumbents by catering specifically to regional linguistic needs.