At a pre-investment valuation of $4.6 billion, fast commerce company Zepto has undertaken talks to raise a further $100–150 million from a group of domestic family offices and high-net-worth individuals (HNIs), according to people familiar with the situation. The Mumbai-based business was valued at $5 billion after raising $340 million at the same price in August.
According to insiders, Motilal Oswal Asset Management Company has already contributed roughly $40 million in this round, which is being administered by the private wealth division of the Motilal Oswal Group.
On August 29, it was reported that Raamdeo Agrawal, the head of Motilal Oswal Financial Service, had personally supported Zepto. Agarwal also made an investment in Swiggy's pre-IPO placement, which attracted a lot of attention from family offices and high-net-worth people.
When the Zepto top-up investment is finished, the company will have raised nearly $1.5 billion in total in just four months. The consecutive fundraising rounds highlight the increased interest in the business and the booming rapid commerce industry.
According to someone who has been offered the deal, "they are pitching the round to shore up domestic capital ahead of the IPO plans next year with credible homegrown investors on the cap table."
Sources claim that Zepto's annualized gross selling run rate has increased from roughly $1.5 billion in May to $2 billion. The top two competitors of Zepto are Swiggy Instamart and Zomato-owned Blinkit, although Flipkart has joined the market with Minutes and BigBasket has completely shifted to a fast commerce model.
