Ahead of IPO, Zepto in talks for $250 mn secondary round

Quick commerce and foodtech unicorn Zepto is reportedly in talks for a $250 million secondary round as part of its strategy increase Indian investor ownership ahead of its plans for an initial public offering (IPO) later this year. The Bengaluru-based startup is expected to launch its IPO later this year or in early 2026. 

Currently, Indian shareholders own 33% stake in the company and the quick commerce giant aims to increase the stake of domestic investors to nearly 50% ahead of the IPO. As of now, founders Aadit Palicha and Kaivalya Vohra own around a fifth of the firm. Nexus Venture Partners is the biggest investor in the company with a share of 18.6%, while family offices of Mankind Pharma, Haldiram Snacks, Cello, and individuals like Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar and actor Abhishek Bachchan are among other notable investors.

The share sale is expected to take place at a valuation of over $5 billion. In the last funding round, Zepto raised $350 million at the same valuation.

As of now, Zepto has raised $1.95 billion in 10 funding rounds, with the first being on November 1, 2020. Its latest funding round was a Series G round on November 21, 2024, for $350M, where 13 investors participated, lead by Motilal Oswal Private Wealth.

The quick commerce unicorn is planning to raise between $800 million and $1 billion via IPO route, which would be a combination of fresh and secondary share sale. The CEO Aadit Palicha-led company is reportedly in discussion with merchant bankers to file its IPO document with the SEBI later this year. It has hired Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Axis Capital as bankers, as per report.

In the competitive quick commerce market, Zepto competes with Zomato's Blinkit, Swiggy Instamart, Tata’s Big Basket, and other companies. Recently, food and grocery delivery firm Swiggy made its debut on the domestic bourses after raising $1.4 billion via IPO route, while Zomato is already listed on the stock exchanges.

While the likes of Ather Energy, WeWork, Ecom Express, and Smartworks are already in process to list their shares on domestic bourses, eyewear retailer Lenskart, online meat and seafood seller Licious, e-commerce player Meesho, and many others intend to file their draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) in the next 1-3 years.

Last year, eight new-age companies listed their shares on the domestic stock exchanges. The renowned startups such as Swiggy, Ola Electric, Awfis, GoDigit Insurance, TBO Tek, FirstCry, Ixigo and Unicommerce raised ₹27,421 crore via IPO route, making a strong comeback after 3 quiet years. This was the largest IPO fundraising since 2021, when seven big NATCs, including Paytm, Zomato and Nykaa, garnered ₹42,826 crore through the primary market.

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