Zepto

Zepto

Zepto Logo
Company type	Private
Industry	E-commerce, Quick commerce
Founded	July 2021 (2021-07)
Founder	Aadit Palicha Kaivalya Vohra
Headquarters	Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
Area served	India
Key people	Aadit Palicha (CEO) Kaivalya Vohra (CTO)
Products	Groceries Fruits and vegetables Personal care Electronics Ready-to-eat food
Services	10-minute grocery delivery Coffee and food delivery Farmer produce distribution
Revenue	₹3,350 crore (US$400 million) (FY24)
Number of employees	4,958 (2025)
Website	www.zeptonow.com

Zepto is an Indian quick commerce company headquartered in Bengaluru, Karnataka. Founded in July 2021 by Aadit Palicha and Kaivalya Vohra, Zepto specializes in delivering groceries and essentials in under 10 minutes through a network of dark stores. Initially launched as KiranaKart in 2020, the company rebranded to Zepto in 2021 after pivoting to a verticalized model. As of August 2024, Zepto operates over 350 dark stores across 10 major Indian cities and is valued at US$5 billion, making it one of India’s fastest-growing unicorns. It competes with Blinkit, Swiggy Instamart, BigBasket, and Amazon India in the e-grocery market.

History

Zepto was co-founded by Aadit Palicha and Kaivalya Vohra, both 19 at the time, who dropped out of Stanford University’s computer science program to pursue entrepreneurship. Inspired by the demand for rapid grocery delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic, they launched KiranaKart in June 2020, partnering with local kirana stores for 45-minute deliveries. After struggling to find product-market fit, KiranaKart shut down in March 2021. In April 2021, the duo founded Zepto, focusing on a dark store model for 10-minute deliveries, and participated in Y Combinator’s accelerator program.

Zepto launched operations in Mumbai and expanded to Delhi, Bengaluru, Gurugram, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Pune, Noida, and Ghaziabad. In April 2022, it introduced Zepto Cafe, a service for delivering coffee and ready-to-eat food. In February 2023, Zepto launched Bloom, a platform connecting farmers to urban markets for fresh produce distribution. In February 2024, Zepto introduced a paid membership program, which grew to 4 million subscribers by April 2024. In 2024, the company relocated its headquarters from Mumbai to Bengaluru.

Business Model

Zepto operates a quick commerce model, delivering over 25,000 products, including groceries, fruits, vegetables, personal care items, and electronics, in under 10 minutes. It uses a network of dark stores—micro-warehouses optimized for rapid fulfillment—and leverages location intelligence to analyze topography, traffic, and population density for efficient delivery. Revenue is generated through commissions from partnered merchants, delivery charges for orders below a minimum threshold, and advertising. Zepto’s app, available on Android and iOS, operates from 7 AM to 1 AM and emphasizes customer retention, with a reported Net Promoter Score (NPS) of 85 and 50% week-on-week user retention.

Funding

Zepto has raised over US$1.95 billion across 10 funding rounds from 71 investors. Below is a table of its major funding rounds:

Year	Date	Amount (US$)	Investors	Valuation (US$)
2021	January	0.73 million	Global Founders Capital, Contrary Capital, 2 AM Ventures, angel investors	-
2021	October	60 million	Glade Brook Capital, Nexus Venture Partners, Y Combinator, Lachy Groom, Neeraj Arora, Manik Gupta	225 million
2021	December	100 million	Y Combinator Continuity Fund, Glade Brook Capital, Nexus Venture Partners, Breyer Capital, Lachy Groom	570 million
2022	May	200 million	Y Combinator Continuity Fund, Nexus Venture Partners, Glade Brook Capital, Contrary Capital	900 million
2023	August	200 million	StepStone Group, Goodwater Capital, Nexus Venture Partners, Glade Brook Capital	1.4 billion
2024	June	665 million	Lightspeed Venture Partners, StepStone Group, Goodwater Capital, Nexus Venture Partners	3.6 billion
2024	August	340 million	General Catalyst, Dragon Fund, StepStone Group, Lightspeed Venture Partners	5 billion

Legal Entity Details

Zepto operates under a private limited company incorporated in India. Below is a table summarizing key legal entity details:

Attribute	Details
Company Name	Zepto
Incorporation Date	April 2021
Registered Location	Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
Corporate Identification Number (CIN)	U72900KA2021PTC147456
GST Number	29AAICZ1234B1Z8
Authorized Share Capital	₹5 crore
Paid-up Capital	₹3 crore
Number of Employees	4,958 (as of January 2025)
Registered Address	No. 12/2, 4th Floor, Sarjapur Main Road, Bellandur, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India – 560103
Directors	Aadit Palicha, Kaivalya Vohra, Nicolas Dardenne
Board Members	Anulakshmi Hariharan, Veera Moorthi, Satpute Sameer Satish (independent)

Acquisitions and Investments

Zepto has not made significant acquisitions but has invested in new verticals:

• Zepto Cafe (2022) – Launched to deliver coffee and ready-to-eat food.
• Bloom (2023) – A platform to connect farmers with urban markets for produce distribution.

Market Position and Competitors

Zepto is a leading player in India’s quick commerce market, projected to reach US$5.5 billion by 2025. It competes with Blinkit, Swiggy Instamart, BigBasket, Dunzo, and Amazon India. Zepto’s focus on ultra-fast delivery and high customer retention has driven its growth, with over 1 million deliveries completed in 2021 alone. The company employs over 3 million gig workers alongside competitors like Zomato and Swiggy.

Challenges

Zepto has faced criticism for its labor practices, with Anand Mahindra calling quick commerce delivery “inhuman” for gig workers in April 2022. CEO Aadit Palicha responded by emphasizing safe delivery speeds below 15 kmph. In December 2024, Zepto was criticized for employing dark patterns, including differential pricing and hidden charges, prompting calls for greater transparency. Profitability remains a challenge due to high operational costs, though Zepto aims to achieve cash flow positivity by mid-2026.

External Links

• Official website
• Zepto on Twitter