'Lies are not acceptable': Zepto CEO Aadit Palicha alleges rival CFO running smear campaign

Quick commerce firm Zepto’s co-founder and CEO Aadit Palicha has accused the chief financial officer (CFO) of a rival company of orchestrating a “smear campaign” against the startup, alleging that the executive attempted to discredit Zepto through investor calls, manipulated data, and social media misinformation.

In a post on LinkedIn, Palicha claimed that over the past few days, the competitor's CFO had contacted Zepto's investors with "wild allegations" unsupported by evidence, shared “false numbers” through media sources, and allegedly paid bots to circulate negative narratives online.

“Candidly, this episode is below the stature expected of the CFO of a high-quality company, and makes it obvious that they are starting to get nervous about how fast Zepto's EBITDA is improving,” Palicha wrote.

Zepto CEO on firm's performance

Palicha also revealed Zepto’s recent business performance to counter the claims. He said the company’s Gross Order Value (GOV) rose from approximately ₹750 crore per month in May 2024 to ₹2,400 crore per month in May 2025. This metric includes revenue from ad sales and fruits and vegetables at selling price.

He said that Zepto’s EBITDA improved by 20 percentage points between January and May 2025, while its cash burn dropped by nearly 65% in the same period. Despite the push for profitability, the company also recorded a 20% GOV growth, averaging 4-5% month-on-month.

Palicha added that most of Zepto’s dark stores are expected to become EBITDA-positive by the next quarter, including backend supply chain, customer support, and fixed and variable costs. The company’s overall EBITDA and operating cash flow are also forecasted to be within a few hundred basis points of breakeven soon.

Highlighting its financial stability, Palicha said Zepto has around ₹7,445 crore in net cash, reconciled to bank statements, giving it “many years of runway” based on current burn rates.

Responding to speculation about possible store closures, Palicha clarified that Zepto has no plans for large-scale rationalisation. “On the contrary, we are ramping up store launches,” he said.

“My hope is this CFO in question stops this activity. I'm okay with healthy/aggressive competitive talk, but lies are not acceptable,” he added.

Palicha’s post included screenshots of social media posts he claimed were part of the smear campaign, with one saying, “Zepto = Paytm 2.0. Investors, phir se bewakoof banne waale ho.”

He also shared a WhatsApp conversation with an unnamed individual who alleged that the rival CFO had contacted them to share “negative perspectives on Zepto.”