How Zepto raised $1.05 billion in two months: ‘Couldn't pass opportunities…’

Zepto raised $1.05 billion in two months. The company raised $340 million in August after a $665 million round in June.

Zepto raised $1.05 billion in a span of two months and across two tranches as investors continue to bet on India's quick commerce market. The three-year old company has emerged as a major challenger to Zomato owned Blinkit, Swiggy Instamart, Flipkart Minutes and Tata’s Big Basket.

Zepto's co-founders Kaivalya Vohra and Aadit Palicha

Zepto raised $340 million on August 29 after closing the first $665 million round on June 21. Since being founded in 2021, Zepto has raised around $1.5 billion in total.

Aadit Palicha, co-founder and CEO of Zepto said, “First, the opportunity to bring onboard a lead investor of Neeraj Arora’s calibre from General Catalyst was one we couldn't pass on."

He added, “Second, strengthening our balance sheet is a strategic move, particularly as the company continues to deliver robust growth and operating leverage. While (the) recent financing reflects strong confidence in Zepto’s performance to date, we recognise there is still a lot of execution ahead of us to fulfil our ambition of building a world-class internet company out of India."

In FY23, Zepto recorded a revenue of ₹2,024 crore up from ₹141 crore in FY22- a 1,335 per cent jump year-on-year (YoY. During the same time, the company incurred a net loss of ₹1,272 crore in FY23.