Zepto (company)

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Last edited April 28, 2026

Not to be confused with ZeptoLab.
Zepto
Formerly
KiranaKart
IndustryQuick-commerce
FoundedJuly 2021; 5 years ago (2021-07) in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Headquarters
Bengaluru, Karnataka
,
India
Number of locations
1000+ stores (2026)
Key people
  • Aadit Palicha (CEO)
  • Nikhil Mittal (CTO)
ServicesOnline grocer
RevenueIncrease ₹9,366 crore (US$1.3 billion) (2025)
Template:Positive decrease ₹−3,367 crore (US$−470 million) (2024)
Number of employees
16,898 (March 2026)
Websitezepto.com

Zepto is an Indian quick-commerce company headquartered in Bengaluru.[1] It was founded in July 2021 by Aadit Palicha and Kaivalya Vohra.[2] As of August 2024, the company is valued at over $5 billion[3] and operates over 250 dark-stores across ten metropolitan areas in India.[4]

History[edit | edit source]

Aadit Palicha started KiranaKart with Kaivalya Vohra in 2020 when they were 17 years old.[5][6] Palicha and Vohra skipped college to start Zepto, instead raising capital from Contrary, which offered to invest if they dropped out of Stanford University.[7][8]

Palicha and Vohra originally branded the company as KiranaKart and focused on facilitating grocery delivery by partnering with local kirana stores, but that approach did not gain traction.[9] They also participated in Y Combinator's accelerator program while building out the first version of the platform.[10]

In 2021, the company rebranded to Zepto and verticalized the operation, building a network of dark stores to fulfill orders. In April 2022, Zepto launched Cafe, a division focused on delivery of coffee and ready-to-eat food.[11] In February 2023, the company launched Bloom, a platform for farmers to manage food production and distribute goods from villages to cities.[12]

Zepto and other major delivery platforms including Zomato, Blinkit, and Swiggy employ over 3 million gig workers. The company began a paid membership program in February 2024,[13] which has over 4 million subscribers as of April 2024.[14]

In 2024, Zepto moved its headquarters from Mumbai to Bengaluru.[1]

Funding[edit | edit source]

In January 2021, KiranaKart (now Zepto) raised $730,000 in a pre-seed round led by Global Founders Capital, Contrary Capital, 2 AM Ventures, and angel investors.[15]

In October 2021, it raised $60 million from Nexus, Y Combinator, Global Founders Capital, as well as angel investors Lachy Groom, Neeraj Arora and Manik Gupta at $225 million valuation.[16]

In December 2021, the company raised $100 million Series C round led by Y Combinator's Continuity Fund at a valuation of $570 million.[17]

In May 2022, Zepto raised $200 million at $900 million valuation as a part of its Series D round which was again led by Y Combinator's Continuity Fund. Investors including Nexus Venture Partners, Glade Brook Capital and Contrary Capital participated in the new round.[18]

In August 2023, Zepto raised $200 million as part of its Series E round at a $1.4 billion valuation, becoming a unicorn.[19] It raised funds from U.S-based investment firms StepStone Group and Goodwater Capital. Existing backers including Nexus Venture Partners and Glade Brook Capital also participated in the deal.[20][21]

In June 2024, Zepto raised $665 million funding at $3.6 billion valuation as part of its Series F round[22] and $340 million funding at a $5 billion valuation two months later, raising over $1 billion in 2024 and more than $1.5 billion since its inception.[23]

Round Size Valuation Lead Investor(s)
Pre-Seed[15][24] $730,000 $2.5 million Contrary
Series A[16] $60 million $225 million Glade Brook Capital
Series C[17] $100 million $570 million Y Combinator
Series D[18] $200 million $900 million Y Combinator
Series E[20][19] $200 million $1.4 billion StepStone Group
Series F[22] $665 million $3.6 billion Glade Brook, Nexus and Stepstone
Follow up round[23] $340 million $5 billion General Catalyst

Reception[edit | edit source]

In April 2022, Anand Mahindra commented that q-commerce delivery is "inhuman" to the delivery workers that Zepto and peers contract to fulfill orders. Aadit Palicha, the co-founder of the company responded that only speeds of less than 15 km/h are necessary to make deliveries.[25][26]

Since 2024, Zepto has faced criticism for employing dark patterns in its app, including differential pricing and hidden charges on the final bill.[27][28] Zepto has also been criticised for its drip pricing and price gouging practices.[29][30][31]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Zepto to move headquarters to Bengaluru by November 2024 — ETRealEstate". Economic Times. Retrieved 12 January 2025.
  2. ↑ "Many of Zepto's dark stores now profitable; co announces leadership changes". The Times of India. 31 May 2023. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
  3. ↑ "Zepto's valuation rockets to $5 billion as investors double down on India's e-commerce boom". Livemint. 2 September 2024.
  4. ↑ "Zepto Plans Expansion Into Non-Grocery Delivery, Eyes Bigger Dark Stores". Times Now. 17 June 2024. Retrieved 11 September 2024.
  5. ↑ "As Indians expect groceries in 10 mins, delivery agents struggle". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
  6. ↑ "Y Combinator-backed Zepto launches 10-minute food delivery service 'Cafe' in Mumbai". Moneycontrol. 18 April 2022. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
  7. ↑ Hernbroth, Megan. "One Silicon Valley venture firm will invest up to $100,000 in startups founded by college students taking a gap year to become entrepreneurs". Business Insider. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
  8. ↑ "Stanford dropouts raise $60 million for grocery startup Zepto". Yahoo Finance. 11 November 2021. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
  9. ↑ Li, Steven. "They Raised $360 Million After Dropping Out Of Stanford And Built Grocery Delivery App Zepto, Now Worth $900 Million". Forbes. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
  10. ↑ Singh, Manish (31 October 2021). "India's Zepto raises $60M for its 10 minute grocery delivery app". TechCrunch. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
  11. ↑ "Zepto unveils 10-minute food delivery service 'Cafe' in Mumbai: All you need to know". Zee News. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
  12. ↑ "Zepto's engagement programme, Zepto Bloom for farmers launched'". Financialexpress. 13 February 2023. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
  13. ↑ Saha, Soumyajit (29 February 2024). "Zepto launches membership programme for all users". The Economic Times. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
  14. ↑ "x.com". X (formerly Twitter). Retrieved 7 June 2024.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 "How two 19-year-old Stanford dropouts founded Zepto". Business Today. 12 November 2021. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Singh, Manish (31 October 2021). "India's Zepto raises $60M for its 10 minute grocery delivery app". TechCrunch. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 Singh, Manish (20 December 2021). "Zepto, a 10-minute grocery delivery app in India, raises $100 million". TechCrunch. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Singh, Manish (2 May 2022). "Zepto, a 10-minute grocery delivery app, raises $200 million". TechCrunch. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 Sriram, M. (25 August 2023). "Zepto raises $200 million at $1.4 billion valuation, becomes first Indian unicorn in nearly a year". Reuters. Retrieved 26 August 2023.
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 Cornish, Chloe (25 August 2023). "India's first 'unicorn' of 2023 boosts tech sector's hopes of funding revival". Financial Times. Retrieved 26 August 2023.
  21. ↑ Sarkar, Gargi (8 November 2023). "Quick Commerce Unicorn Zepto Secures Another $31 Mn In Series E Round". inc42.com. Retrieved 26 November 2024.
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 "Zepto raises $665 million funding at $3.6 billion valuation to take on Blinkit, Swiggy Instamart". The Economic Times. 22 June 2024. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved 11 September 2024.
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 Upadhyay, Harsh (29 August 2024). "Zepto raises $340 Mn at $5 Bn valuation". Entrackr. Retrieved 11 September 2024.
  24. ↑ "x.com". X (formerly Twitter). Retrieved 7 June 2024.
  25. ↑ "Anand Mahindra | Zepto : Anand Mahindra isn't impressed with 10-min delivery, but gives Zepto boss a 'fair' chance to explain his POV". The Economic Times. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
  26. ↑ Schmall, Emily; Singh, Karan Deep; Loke, Atul (4 January 2023). "Need an Onion? These Indian Apps Will Deliver It in Minutes". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
  27. ↑ "'Totally sneaky and untrustworthy': Zepto faces dark pattern allegations amid growing scrutiny on e-commerce ethics". Business Today. 5 December 2024. Retrieved 12 January 2025.
  28. ↑ "Dark patterns: Fair play or a tool of mass deception?". The Morning Context. Retrieved 12 January 2025.
  29. ↑ "Is Zepto price gouging? Bengaluru woman highlights shocking disparity between Android and iPhone". The Economic Times. 13 January 2025. Retrieved 27 April 2025.
  30. ↑ Jain, Sanya (27 January 2025). "₹20 on Android, ₹100 on iPhone: Price difference on Zepto leaves users stunned". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 27 April 2025.
  31. ↑ Chatterjee, Poulomi; Venugopal, Sahana (7 February 2025). "The Dark Side of Quick Commerce: How 10-minute delivery apps are using deceptive design to manipulate shoppers". The Hindu. Retrieved 27 April 2025.

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