Ahead of IPO, Aadit Palicha-led Zepto appoints Airtel’s Akhil Gupta to board

Ahead of its IPO, quick commerce unicorn Zepto has appointed Akhil Gupta, vice chairman of Bharti Enterprises, the parent company of Bharti Airtel, as an independent director to its board. Notably, Gupta played a key role in successful public listings of Bharti Airtel in 2002, followed by Bharti Infratel in 2012, and Airtel Africa in 2019. Overall, he has played a pivotal role in Bharti’s growth right since inception - both organically and by way of various acquisitions - along with raising several billion dollars by way of project finance for the group over the years from global banks, bond markets and export credit agencies.

Currently, Zepto co-founders Aadit Palicha and Kaivalya Vohra, Avra founder Anu Hariharan, and Nexus Venture Partners co-founder and Managing Director Suvir Sujan, are board members of the quick commerce firm.

The development came at a time when 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. 

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 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.

Currently, Indian shareholders own 33% stake in Zepto 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.