The fundraise brought in major new investors onto the cap table, with the StepStone Group leading the round
Mumbai: Zepto, an online grocery company, raised $200 Million in Series E funding, valuing the company at $1.4 Billion, the company announced in a press release. The fundraise brought in major new investors onto the cap table, with the StepStone Group leading the round (which is their first direct investment in an Indian company). Additionally, Goodwater Capital, a consumer-focused venture capital firm based in California, joined the round as a new investor. Notably, existing investors, like Nexus Venture Partners, Glade Brook Capital, Lachy Groom and more, doubled down in Zepto with meaningful follow-on investments.
The funding is set to make the company the only startup to turn unicorn this year, Zepto said.
Kaivalya Vohra, co-founder and chief technology officer, Zepto, shared, “Even with this capital, we want to maintain our discipline, avoid complacency, and push hard to hit EBITDA positivity. In that journey, the biggest drivers of P&L improvement for us are based on technology and product. We are building one of the best supply chain product stacks in the country today and we are investing heavily in customer-facing product as well.”
Zepto claims that the majority of its dark stores are fully EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) positive. In addition, the company said that its burn has reduced significantly, and with this trajectory, the company will be fully EBITDA positive in 12 to 15 months.
The company has grown its sales by 300% Year-on-Year and will likely achieve $1 Billion in annualized sales within the next few quarters.
Aadit Palicha, co-founder and chief executive officer, Zepto, said, “This business is about execution and we are succeeding because our execution is strong. We are in this to build a generational company and it truly feels like this is just the beginning.”
Encouraged by this performance, Zepto plans to go public by 2025, the founders said.
Founded in 2021 by Stanford University dropouts, Aadit Palicha and Kaivalya Vohra, Zepto has delighted millions of customers by delivering over 6,000 grocery products in 10 minutes through a network of delivery hubs across the country. The company has grown its sales by 300% Year-on-Year and will likely achieve $1 Billion in annualized sales within the next few quarters.
