Zepto raises $350 million at flat $5 billion valuation ahead of IPO

Indian HNIs, family offices, and leading financial institutions took part in latest funding round

Quick commerce major Zepto on Friday announced that it has raised a massive $350 million in its latest round at a flat valuation of $5 billion, led by Motilal Oswal’s Private Wealth division. The move aims to bring more domestic investors to its cap table ahead of the company’s upcoming initial public offering (IPO).

 

The round, which marks the largest 100 per cent domestic fundraise in India’s startup ecosystem, also included investments from Indian high net-worth individuals (HNIs), family offices, and leading financial institutions.

 

These include the likes of Raamdeo Agarwal, the Taparia Family Office, Mankind Pharma Family Office, RP Sanjiv Goenka Group, Cello Family Office, Haldiram Snacks Family Office, Sekhsaria Family Office, Kalyan Family Office, Happy Forgings Family Office, Mothers Recipe Family Office (Desai Brothers), and HNIs like Abhishek Amitabh Bachchan and Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar, among others.

 

 

Zepto has raised almost $1.6 billion in funding in just over 15 months to strengthen its balance sheet ahead of its stock market debut, which is expected next year. This comes at a time when competition in the burgeoning quick commerce space is intensifying.

 

“When we started this venture, the risk appetite among domestic investors was limited — especially to trust 18-year-olds with their money,” said Aadit Palicha, CEO and co-founder, Zepto.

 

“Today, we are humbled to have reached a place in India’s economic growth where we’ve not only fostered that trust but also spearheaded a fundraise of this magnitude, which will hopefully set a precedent for the startups that follow,” he added.

 

Zepto raised $340 million in a follow-on financing round at a $5 billion valuation in August. This came two months after the firm raised a massive $665 million in a series F round, where it was valued at $3.6 billion.

 

The firm currently has large foreign investors like General Catalyst, Dragon Fund, StepStone, Lightspeed Ventures, Nexus Venture Partners, and Glade Brook Capital, among others, on its cap table.

 

Zepto, which is the only firm to exclusively focus on quick commerce, competes with the likes of Zomato-owned Blinkit, Swiggy Instamart, and Tata-owned Big Basket.

 

“Motilal Oswal is a strong believer in the future of digital businesses, particularly quick commerce players like Zepto, as potential free cash flow powerhouses. India’s biggest and marquee family office clients of Motilal Oswal Private Wealth share this excitement and have participated in this once-in-a-lifetime journey of value creation,” said Ashish Shanker, MD and CEO, Motilal Oswal Private Wealth.

 

Ahead of its IPO, the quick commerce major is rapidly scaling up its operations. The firm is aiming to reach a dark store count of 700 in the near future, and has expanded its services like Zepto Café to major cities.