Indian rapid grocery delivery firm Zepto bags $340m in follow-on financing at $5bn valuation

Indian online grocery delivery app, Zepto, has secured $340 million in a follow-on financing round, placing the company at a $5 billion in valuation following its previous fundraise in June.

General Catalyst led the round, with Dragon Fund, and Epiq Capital joining as new investors. Existing backers such as StepStone, Lightspeed, DST, and Contrary also increased their stakes.

Zepto has now raised more than $1 billion in just two months.

“The rationale behind this follow-on financing was twofold,” says Aadit Palicha, Co-founder and CEO at Zepto, which he launched in 2021 alongside fellow Stanford University dropout Kaivalya Vohra.

“First, the opportunity to bring onboard a lead investor of  Neeraj Arora’s calibre from General Catalyst was one we couldn't pass on. Second, strengthening our balance sheet is a strategic move, particularly as the company continues to deliver robust growth and operating leverage.”

“While these recent financings reflect 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. At Zepto, we genuinely feel we are just at the beginning of our journey.”

“I’ve known Aadit and Kaivalya for several years, and they are truly exceptional founders who turned their bold mission to modernise India’s grocery sector into a category-defining company. This is just the beginning of their journey,” says Neeraj Arora, Managing Director at General Catalyst.

“This is one of our first investments in India following the merger of Venture Highway and General Catalyst. We are thrilled to partner with Zepto, and believe their quick commerce model is setting the standard for the future of e-commerce in India and beyond."

“Dragon Fund’s vision is to back world class technology companies globally,” says Ridhi Chaudhary, Chief Investment Officer at Dragon Fund. “We are very excited to partner with Zepto and its exceptional team who are defining and building quick commerce in India." 

“Quick commerce addresses the convenience, variety and value needs of urban India which is a massive opportunity,” comments Aakash Tulsani, Managing Director at Dragon Fund. “We have been impressed by Zepto's execution, data driven approach and ambition to build an enduring company.”*

Zepto had a 28% share of the Indian market as of January 2024, up from 15% in March 2022, according to HSBC. Rival Blinkit laid claim to a 40% market share as of January and Instamart 32%.

2024 RTIH INNOVATION AWARDS

Grocery delivery is a key focus area for the sixth edition of the RTIH Innovation Awards, which is now open for entries.

The awards, sponsored by CADS, 3D Cloud, Retail Technology Show 2025, and Business France, celebrate global tech innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.

It’s free to enter and you can do so across multiple categories.

Key 2024 dates

Friday, 25th October: Award entry deadline 

Tuesday, 29th October: 2024 shortlist revealed

30th October-6th November: Judging days

Thursday, 21st November: Winners announced at the 2024 RTIH Innovation Awards ceremony, to be held at RIBA’s 66 Portland Place HQ in Central London.