Zepto, India’s rapidly growing quick delivery platform and competitor to Blinkit, on Friday announced that it has successfully raised $665 million in its latest funding round, valuing the company at $3.6 billion.
This round comes just nine months after Zepto secured $235 million at a $1.4 billion valuation.
The funding round attracted high oversubscription, with new investors like Avenir, Lightspeed, and Avra (Anu Hariharan’s new fund) participating, along with existing backers Glade Brook, Nexus, and StepStone, who co-led the round.
Goodwater and Lachy Groom also doubled down on their investments in the company.
Zepto Eyes IPO After Strong Financial Performance & Expansion Plans
Aadit Palicha, Co-founder and CEO of Zepto, highlighted the company’s financial health.
He noted, “This dynamic of stores turning profitable faster and faster has enabled Zepto to grow rapidly while simultaneously achieving near EBITDA positivity at a company level.”
Zepto however plans to utilize the fresh capital to fuel its aggressive expansion strategy, aiming to scale from 350 to 700 stores.
“We plan to continue operating with fiscal discipline as we scale by reinvesting the capital generated from mature stores back into the business,” added Palicha, hinting at potential plans for an IPO in the near future.
Kaivalya Vohra, Co-founder and CTO, emphasized the company’s focus on talent acquisition with the new funds.
“We plan to hire top talent across engineering, product, growth, finance, operations, and category management,” said Vohra.
Founded in 2021 by Stanford University dropouts Aadit Palicha and Kaivalya Vohra, Zepto has swiftly emerged as one of India’s fastest-growing internet companies.
Headquartered in Mumbai, Zepto boasts a delivery network covering over 10,000 products across various categories, with an impressive average delivery time of just 10 minutes.
“The Zepto team embodies what is possible for the next generation of Indian founders, and Glade Brook could not be more excited to continue our partnership,” said Paul Hudson, CIO of Glade Brook Capital Partners, reflecting on the company’s promising trajectory.
Meanwhile, Zepto’s gross merchandise value (GMV) has seen substantial year-on-year growth, surpassing $1 billion, with 75% of its stores achieving full EBITDA positivity as of May.
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