Quick commerce firm Zepto is set to raise $300 million in fresh funding from investors including top Indian family offices and celebrities such as actor Amitabh Bachchan and cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, the Economic Times reported on Friday, citing multiple people in the know.
This year alone, Zepto has raised more than $1 billion in back-to-back funding rounds. It last raised $340 million in August, led by General Catalyst at a $5 billion valuation. In June, it had raised over $665 million from investors including Glade Brook, Nexus, and StepStone, with Goodwater, Avenir, and Lightspeed.
The new fundraising comes as India’s burgeoning quick commerce sector has caught the eye of domestic and global investors. Zepto competes with Softbank-backed Swiggy’s Instamart and Zomato’s Blinkit. The market remains highly attractive, with players vying for dominance in a segment that has become an integral part of India’s $1-trillion retail industry.
Founded by Aadit Palicha and Kaivalya Vohra—who dropped out of Stanford University to tap into the fast-growing Indian market—Zepto has rapidly gained traction among online shoppers. In addition to grocery deliveries, Zepto and its peers have diversified their offerings to include items like books, plants, phone chargers, board games, and bouquets, all delivered within minutes.
Zepto’s fundraising plans follow Swiggy’s recent $1.4 billion IPO—India’s second-largest this year. Swiggy’s shares joined rival Zomato’s on the stock exchanges on Wednesday this week by listing at an 8% premium to the IPO issue price of Rs 390 apiece. The shares ended their first trading day at Rs 464 apiece, up 19% on the National Stock Exchange (NSE Ltd.), valuing the company at $12.1 billion. However, the shares fell over 6% on Day 2 to end at Rs 430 apiece as traders booked profits.
Zomato, which listed on the Indian bourses in 2021, is valued at $28 billion, as of Thursday’s market close. Friday was a market holiday in India.
Both listings underscore the sustained investor interest in India’s quick commerce space, which continues to attract significant capital. Zepto has also disclosed its plans to go public by 2025.
According to the ET report, Zepto’s monthly cash burn, including capex for setting up dark stores and other infrastructure costs, has shot up to around $30-35 million in recent months. “September was the most expensive month for Zepto,” the report said.
Capital expenditure on dark stores also capped margins for Zomato in the September quarter due to a rapid expansion in the number of distribution stores at quick commerce arm Blinkit. There were 152 stores by Blinkit added in Q2 FY2025, compared with 28 in the year-ago quarter. The company also added seven new warehouses in the period.
