PhonePe-owned Indus Appstore co-founder Akash Dongre steps down

• Published     |    June 8, 2026

Akash Dongre, one of the founders of PhonePe‑owned Indus Appstore, has resigned after more than ten years of shaping the indigenous app discovery and distribution platform.

He shared the news on LinkedIn on Tuesday, marking the latest departure of a co‑founder from the venture. Earlier, Rakesh Deshmukh, former CEO and co‑founder of Indus OS, left the company in early 2024.

Indus OS was launched in 2013 by Dongre, Deshmukh, and Sudhir Bangera with the goal of creating technology solutions suited for Indian users, emphasizing local languages and content discovery. The startup teamed up with Micromax in 2015 and later broadened its reach to several smartphone manufacturers. Dongre noted that by 2016 Indus OS had become the second‑largest mobile operating system by shipments in India.

In 2019 the firm shifted its focus to an app store model and partnered with Samsung to make its marketplace available on devices nationwide.

PhonePe took over Indus OS in July 2022 after a lengthy legal dispute. The business was rebranded as Indus Appstore, and the Walmart‑backed fintech officially unveiled the platform in February 2024 as a domestic alternative to the Google Play Store, offering support for 12 Indian languages plus English.

In his LinkedIn update, Dongre traced the company’s journey from a regional‑language‑centric mobile OS to an app marketplace that now serves millions of users across the country.

He also pointed out several achievements during his tenure, including the debut of Indus Appstore at Bharat Mandapam in February 2024, the addition of Xiaomi India in March 2025, and surpassing the 150‑million‑user milestone.

According to Dongre, Indus Appstore will continue under new leadership. He said he intends to take a break to rest and reflect before deciding on his next step, although he did not reveal any specific future plans.