Prasad cofounded Unnati in 2011, along with Amit Sinha.

"Ashok was far more than a cofounder to me. Over the last two decades, we shared not just a professional journey, but a deep friendship built on trust, resilience, and a common belief that technology can meaningfully transform Indian agriculture. Much of what Unnati stands for today carries his imprint, from the values we built the organisation on to the long-term vision we continue to pursue. His absence is deeply personal for all of us, and he will be profoundly missed," Sinha said.

Prior to cofounding Unnati, Prasad served at various leadership positions at companies like Tata Teleservices, Paytm, Nokia, among others. Notably, his cofounder Sinha also worked with Paytm for more than a decade. He later joined Unnati in 2019.

Founded in 2011, Unnati provides a digital platform for retailers to sell agri inputs to farmers. It claims to support a portfolio of more than 4,000 SKUs across crop protection, seeds, and crop nutrition categories. It claims to be operating across multiple Indian states with a strong presence in central and northern India.

Unnati has raised a total of $13.24 Mn to date from the likes of Orios Venture Partners, NABVENTURES, Incofin Investment Management, IPL Biologicals, among others.

Earlier this year, the startup announced that it was acquiring Info Edge-backed peer startup Gramophone. In January, Info Edge said its stake in Gramophone, which currently stands at 39.58%, will increase to 50.94% prior to the transfer of the startup's shares to Unnati.

Unnati reported a 30% jump in revenue to ₹515 Cr in FY24 from ₹397 Cr in the previous fiscal year. However, its loss also widened 27% to ₹469 Cr from ₹370 Cr in FY23.

This is the third such loss for the Indian startup ecosystem this year. In April, cofounder of SaaS startup XpedizeRegan Mithani passed away. Prior to that, SaaS unicorn Icertis' cofounder Samir Bodas passed away at the age of 61 after a prolonged battle with cancer.