Zepto IPO soon? Company raises $665 million in biggest funding round this year

Zepto plans to double warehouses to more than 700 by March 2025 by reinvesting sales from mature stores to fund the expansion.

Grocery delivery startup Zepto is preparing to go public after more than doubling its valuation to $3.6 billion in a round of financing led by US and local investors. Zepto raised $665 million from new investors including private equity firm Avenir, venture firm Lightspeed, and Avra, a new fund started by former Y Combinator Continuity head Anu Hariharan. Existing investors including Glade Brook, Nexus, and StepStone Group co-led the round, the startup said in a statement.

Zepto is preparing to go public after more than doubling its valuation to $3.6 billion.

This comes as Zepto is on track to handle more than $1 billion of goods a year, based on May’s performance. About three-quarters of its warehouses, were making an operating profit in May, the company said. The stores now take six months to become profitable as compared to about two years previously, it added.

Zepto plans to double warehouses to more than 700 by March 2025 by reinvesting sales from mature stores to fund the expansion.

“I believe we will be ready to go public relatively soon,” Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Aadit Palicha said.

Zepto competitors include e-commerce giant Amazon.com, SoftBank Group Corp.-backed Swiggy, publicly-traded Zomato Ltd, and conglomerate Tata Group’s BigBasket.