Grocery delivery startup Zepto is preparing for an IPO after significantly increasing its valuation to $3.6 billion following a financing round led by both U.S. and local investors.
The company raised $665 million from new investors, including private equity firm Avenir, venture firm Lightspeed, and Avra, a new fund initiated by former Y Combinator Continuity head Anu Hariharan. Existing investors such as Glade Brook, Nexus, and StepStone Group also co-led the round, as stated by Zepto.
Zepto is on track to handle over $1 billion in goods annually, based on its performance in May. The company reported that about 75% of its warehouses were operating profitably in May, and that the time required for new stores to become profitable has decreased from two years to six months.
The startup plans to double its number of warehouses to over 700 by March 2025, using sales from established stores to fund this expansion.
Co-founder and CEO Aadit Palicha stated, "I believe we will be ready to go public relatively soon."
Zepto’s competitors include Amazon.com, SoftBank-backed Swiggy, publicly traded Zomato Ltd, and Tata Group’s BigBasket.
