Zepto bags $340 million from General Catalyst, others; raises $1 billion in span of two months

Quickcommerce firm Zepto raised $340 million (₹2,850 crore) more in the latest funding round led by General Catalyst, Mars Growth Capital and Epiq Capital on August 29.

The three entities were the lead investors in the funding round, whereas existing investors such as StepStone, Lightspeed, DST and Contrary also raised their stakes, reports said.

The latest capital infusion takes Zepto's overall fundraise to $1.05 billion in the last two months. The Mumbai-based startups had raised $665 million (₹5,560 crore) on June 21, in a funding round that was co-led by Glade Brook, Nexus, and StepStone.

Zepto's valuation is now seen at $5 billion, which marks an over three-fold increase as compared to the valuation of $1.4 billion in August 2023.

IPO likely next year

Zepto c-founder and chief executive officer Aadit Palicha, while speaking to the Hindu Businessline in Juned, said the company could go public in the next 9-12 months.

As per the last financial results declared for the year ended March 31, 2023, Zepto's revenue had jumped 14 times to ₹2,024 crore. However, its losses had widened to ₹1,272 crore from ₹390 crore in FY22.

According to Zepto, 75% of its dark stores turned EBITDA positive by May 2024. Pilachi told NDTV Profit two months ago that if the company continues to operate with fiscal discipline then it would be "ready to go public relatively soon".

Doubling store count

Zepto plans to double its store count from 350 to 700 by next year, Palicha told reporters following the previous fund raising round in June.

The stores that Zepto operates are dark stores, which are not open to the public. They serve as inventories from where online deliveries are dispatched.

The company plans to enter 10 new markets, including cities like Ahmedabad, Jaipur and Chandigarh, while doubling down on its existing markets in the metro cities of Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru.