Zepto, a quick commerce company, has raised an additional $665 million from investors, valuing the company at $3.6 billion. The cash, which highlights the increasing demand from investors for prompt delivery, was received just nine months after the Mumbai-based company raised $235 million at a $1.4 billion value, becoming one of the few unicorn firms.
Avenir, Lightspeed, and Avra (Anu Hariharan's new fund), among others, became new investors in the firm with the additional fundraising. The business stated in a statement on Friday that Goodwater and Lachy Groom had doubled down, while existing investors Glade Brook, Nexus, and StepStone co-led the round.
The event occurs at a time when JioMart from Reliance and Flipkart from Walmart are expected to enter the fast commerce market, intensifying competition. Currently fighting for a bigger portion of the customer pocketbook are Zomato's Blinkit, Swiggy Instamart, and Zepto.
Zepto, which intends to go public, stated that as of May 2024, about 75% of its dark shops would be EBITDA positive and that its GMV (gross merchandise value) has increased year over year to over $1 billion. The stores now have a six-month schedule instead of a 23-month one to reach profitability.
By reinvesting the money from mature locations back into the firm, we want to maintain our fiscal discipline as we grow from 350 to 700 stores. Co-founder and CEO Aadit Palicha stated, "I think we will be ready to go public relatively soon if we can accomplish this while continuing to delight customers."
Zepto intends to grow programs like Zepto Pass and provide more categories. The business intends to attract elite talent in a variety of fields, including engineering, product, growth, and finance, to support its expansion goals.
