Anindita Nayak
Bhubaneswar, 21 June 24
Zepto, India’s sole independent quick commerce company, secured $665 million in funding at a valuation of $3.6 billion from a clutch of investors led by its current backers Glade Brook Capital, StepStone Group, and Nexus Venture Partners, a report by the Economic Times said.
This round also saw the participation of new investors including DST Global, Avenir Growth Capital, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and Avra, the ET report noted.
Post this fundraise, Zepto is likely to intensify competition for market share against Blinkit (Zomato-owned), Swiggy Instamart (preparing for public listing), and BigBasket (Tata Digital-owned).
Zepto, which was cofounded by Aadit Palicha and Kaivalya Vohra, has raised $1.2 billion so far since its inception in 2021. Notably, the quick commerce startup achieved unicorn status last year with a $235 million funding round, valuing the company at $1.4 billion.
Zepto’s $665 million fundraise is the highest funding round by any Indian startup so far this year. The company is in the process of shifting its headquarters from Singapore to India ahead of a planned listing on stock exchanges.
Indian quick commerce space has seen rising competition as most players vie for garnering maximum market share in this burgeoning space. According to consulting firm Redseer, India’s quick-commerce market grew 77% in 2023 to reach $2.8 billion in gross merchandise value. This was 5% of India’s overall e-commerce market, the consulting firm noted.
Post this funding round, Zepto is likely to double its dark stores from 350 across 10 cities to over 700 by March 2025. It also plans to increase its workforce from 1,600 to over 2,000 employees in coming quarters, reports said.
Notably, Zepto is also diversifying beyond groceries into electronics, beauty products, toys, stationery, and appliances, challenging giants like Flipkart and Amazon. This space has also seen increased funding activities in recent quarters. While Flipkart has seen an infusion of $1 billion in funding in May this year, Swiggy has filed for IPO in which it plans to raise $1.2 billion from the market. Reportedly, Zomato is planning to infuse Rs 300 crore in its quick commerce wing, Blinkit.
