Zepto, the instant grocery delivery app, has raised a whopping $665 million (around ₹5,559.46 crore) in a funding round. This marks the biggest investment in India’s quick commerce sector this year, catapulting the company’s valuation to $3.6 billion (around ₹ 30,096 crore).
What Happened: The funding round was spearheaded by Zepto’s existing investors including Glade Brook, Nexus and StepStone, who contributed the lion’s share of the capital, Moneycontrol reported. The round also saw participation from new investors such as Avenir Growth, Lightspeed and Avra, among others.
The Mumbai-based firm intends to utilize the funds to broaden its reach into new markets like Jaipur, Chandigarh, Ahmedabad, while also strengthening its footprint in existing cities like Mumbai, Delhi, and Bengaluru. Zepto has set a target to double its dark store count from 350 stores to over 700 stores by March 2025.
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DST Global, a previous supporter of Zepto’s competitor Swiggy, emerged as the single largest new investor, pumping in around $100 million (around ₹836.01 crore).
Zepto’s co-founder, Palicha, highlighted that the company’s ability to increase its gross merchandise value (GMV) to over $1 billion (around ₹8360 crore) in sales in roughly two and a half years was instrumental in securing this investment.
Furthermore, Zepto plans to expand its workforce from around 1,700 employees to around 2,200 employees in the upcoming quarters, primarily to establish operations in new pin codes. The company also aims to significantly boost its ad income, which currently stands at around ₹100 crore, with a goal to transform it into a ₹1,000 crore business within a year.
Zepto previously raised $231 million (around ₹1931.18 crore) at a valuation of $1.4 billion (around ₹11,704 crore) in August 2023. Currently domiciled in Singapore, Zepto is in the process of shifting its base back to India, a move that is expected to be completed in the coming months.
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