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Tag: zepto

  • RIL gears up to enter quick commerce space – Times of India

    RIL gears up to enter quick commerce space – Times of India


    MUMBAI: Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries is all set to enter the quick commerce space to take on Zomato’s Blinkit, Tata Group‘s BigBasket, Swiggy‘s Instamart and Zepto. Reliance Retail’s JioMart could launch the service as early as next month, sources told TOI.
    To begin with, JioMart will deliver groceries in at least 7-8 cities and eventually scale up the service to cover over 1,000 cities.The development comes a little over a year after the company discontinued its 90-minute grocery delivery service JioMart Express. The plan now is to fulfil deliveries under 30 minutes, the sources said. Reliance Retail did not respond to queries.

    Reliance’s move comes at a time when Walmart’s Flipkart is also gearing up to foray into the quick commerce space, a concept which has found rapid traction, particularly among millennial and Gen Z households. Blinkit, Swiggy and Zepto service deliveries of groceries and a range of non-grocery items in 10-15 minutes. Unlike incumbent players, JioMart will not adopt a dark store model for its quick commerce operations but instead tap into Reliance Retail’s vast network of stores and fulfilment centres.
    As of now, JioMart offers slotted and next-day delivery options to customers. “Over time, JioMart will also deliver non-grocery items through quick commerce,” sources said, adding that this is where it can effectively tap into Reliance Retail’s over-18,000-stores across categories and formats. “JioMart is focused on hyper local omni-channel presence and continues to serve its customers from thousands of stores located in proximity to consumers across the country,” said a source aware of the company’s strategy.
    Reliance’s entry into quick commerce will intensify competition in the space and players will have to contend with the company’s pan-India reach and deep pockets. Currently, Blinkit leads quick commerce with about a 40-45% market share. Goldman Sachs estimates the size of online grocery market in terms of gross order value to be about $11 billion as of FY24 of which, quick commerce already makes up about 50% or $5 billion in GOV. Analysts also say that instant deliveries may well be eating into the share of kirana store purchases.





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  • Zepto Becomes India’s First Unicorn Startup In 2023, Raises 200 Million – News18

    Zepto Becomes India’s First Unicorn Startup In 2023, Raises 200 Million – News18


    Curated By: Business Desk

    Last Updated: August 28, 2023, 19:19 IST

    Zepto has not revealed how they will utilise the funds yet.

    India is in the third position in the world with the most unicorn startups.

    Startups have been receiving increased attention in India in recent years. The number of startups has increased rapidly of late, and they have been receiving support from all dimensions. Today, startups are considered an important engine for growth and job generation in a country. Through their innovations and technology, startups have the ability to provide impactful solutions and can provide development. Most of the startups aim to become unicorns in India. A unicorn is a privately owned startup company that has a value of USD 1 billion.

    India has had many unicorns in the past including BYJU, Swiggy, OYO and Ola Cabs. Recently, another name that was added to the list was Zepto. Zepto, a quick-commerce delivery startup, has become the latest addition to the list of unicorns in India. Zepto has raised USD 200 million, becoming the first unicorn of 2023 and ending the 11-month drought of unicorns in India. Major investors in this round were StepStone Group and Goodwater Capital. So far, Zepto has not revealed how they will utilise the funds, but they have revealed that they plan to go public by 2025. Zepto competes with other quick-commerce startups like Swiggy, Dunzo, Blinkit, and more.

    A few months back, a list by the World of Statistics revealed that India is in the third position in the world with the most unicorn startups. The list includes countries like China, the UK, Germany and the US. Reportedly, the US holds the first position with the most unicorns in the world. Apart from that, China is in the second position. The fourth position is held by the UK, and the fifth position is held by Germany.

    Having a high number of unicorns is considered one of the most important factors in determining the growth of a country. As India is still a growing economy, the number of these unicorns is expected to rise in the next few years.

    Business Desk

    A team of writers and reporters decodes vast terms of personal finance and making money matters simpler for you. From latest initial public offerings …Read More



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  • Meet Aadit Palicha: The 21-Year-Old CEO Behind Success of This Year’s First Unicorn Zepto – News18

    Meet Aadit Palicha: The 21-Year-Old CEO Behind Success of This Year’s First Unicorn Zepto – News18


    Online grocery delivery platform Zepto has raised $200 million in Series-E funding, valuing the company at $1.4 billion and establishing it as 2023’s first unicorn. As a result, India’s 11-month unicorn drought has ended. The StepStone Group, a US asset management firm, led the Series E financing, which comprised Goodwater Capital and other current investors. Zepto’s valuation increased from $900 million in May 2022 to over $1 billion today.

    The funding is especially significant because Zepto is the first unicorn, or business valued at more than $1 billion, to be minted in India this year. Molbio Diagnostics was the latest to earn unicorn status in September 2022. Molbio Diagnostics is a molecular diagnostics company that specialises in the low-cost diagnosis of tuberculosis and other diseases.

    During the peak of the fundraising boom in 2021, the country added a unicorn virtually every week. Reports state that in 2021, 44 firms joined the unicorn club, with 23 joining last year. Since then, investors have tightened their purse strings and have been selective in which firms they support, reflecting their cautious approach.

    Of the $200 million raised by Zepto, $105 million reportedly came from new investors StepStone Group ($75 million) and Goodwater Capital ($30 million). Both are said to be new investors in the Mumbai-based startup.

    While this is StepStone’s first direct investment in India, Goodwater Capital has previously invested in audio-streaming startup Pocket FM as well as edtech businesses Teachmint and Yellowclass.

    Furthermore, the remaining $95 million was provided by previous investors like Nexus Venture Partners, Glade Brook Capital, and Lachy Groom. Except for Nexus, Zepto hasn’t aggressively raised money from India-focused venture capitalists, but that could change in the future, co-founder Aadit Palicha told Moneycontrol in an interview.

    StepStone, which has $140 billion in assets under management, is a minority partner in Lachy Groom, Nexus VP, Goodwater Capital, and other funds that have already invested in Zepto.

    Zepto CEO Aadit Palicha

    Aadit Palicha, born in 2001 in Mumbai, began his business career as an entrepreneur at the age of 17. He started the firm GoPool before attending Stanford University in the United States to study computer engineering. He did, however, leave the course in middle to start his own business. He was taking a significant professional risk, but the gamble paid off.

    Aadit Palicha and his friend Kaivalya Vohra launched the grocery delivery web platform Zepto in April 2021. The startup’s valuation surpassed $200 million after just one month of operation. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the idea of supplying groceries in under 10 minutes became a massive hit.

    The platform delivered more than 10 lakh orders in 2021, operating in 86 grocery businesses. The company’s valuation spiked to $570 million in just 5 months of operation. The Zepto’s success earned Palicha and Vohra a mention in the Hurun List Under 30 Entrepreneurs.

    Mohammad Haris

    Haris is Deputy News Editor (Business) at News18.com. He writes on various issues related to markets, economy and companies.…Read More



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  • Bafna: Zepto ropes in former Myntra CFO Ramesh Bafna to lead finance team – Times of India

    Bafna: Zepto ropes in former Myntra CFO Ramesh Bafna to lead finance team – Times of India



    NEW DELHI: Quick commerce start-up Zepto has appointed Ramesh Bafna as its new Chief Financial Officer, the company said on Saturday.
    Bafna was the chief financial officer of fashion and lifestyle e-commerce firm Myntra.
    “To take Zepto public in 2-3 years, we believe we need an incredible CFO and Ramesh is the right person for the job,” Zepto co-founder and CEO Aadit Palicha said.
    Zepto said that Bafna’s appointment signifies major milestones in its growth and profitability metrics, where the company is now focusing on building an industry-leading finance team for its next phase of scale.
    Bafna will take over the role in mid-May from Jitendra Nagpal who moved out of the company recently.
    Bafna earlier served as the CFO at the wealth tech company, CoinSwitch Kuber. He has also spent a decade at IT services major Wipro.





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