Deepinder Goyal has resigned as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Eternal Limited, the parent company of Zomato and Blinkit, effective February 1, 2026, handing operational control to Blinkit CEO Albinder Dhindsa.
Goyal, who founded Zomato 18 years ago, will transition to Vice Chairman subject to shareholder approval for a five-year term, the company said in an exchange filing on Tuesday.
In a letter to shareholders, Goyal said he was drawn to “new ideas that involve significantly higher-risk exploration and experimentation” that sit outside the company’s strategic scope. “The expectations, legal and otherwise, of a public company CEO in India demand singular focus,” he wrote.
Goyal’s External Portfolio
Goyal has been building several ventures outside Eternal over the past year, including Continue Research, a $25 million personal fund for longevity science; Temple, a wearable health-tech startup; and LAT Aerospace, an aviation startup co-founded with former Zomato COO Surobhi Das focused on creating low-cost and high-frequency short take-off and landing (STOL) aircrafts for regional travel using hybrid-electric power and operating from compact “air-stops” instead of large airports.
As part of the transition, Goyal said all his unvested ESOPs would revert to the company’s stock option pool, aimed at creating wealth opportunities for the next generation of leadership without additional shareholder dilution.
Goyal’s External Portfolio
Dhindsa, who led Blinkit from acquisition to segment profitability, takes over as Group CEO at a time when the quick commerce segment has become Eternal’s largest revenue driver. Goyal described Dhindsa’s execution ability as exceeding his own, noting that he “built the team, the culture, the supply chain, the operating rhythm.”
Goyal said his involvement in long-term strategy, culture, leadership development, and governance would continue. “This is a change in title, not in commitment towards outcomes. Eternal remains my life’s work,” he wrote.
The leadership transition comes alongside the company’s Q3 FY26 results, which showed consolidated revenue from operations at Rs 16,315 crore, up from Rs 5,405 crore in the year-ago quarter.
The quick commerce segment posted revenue of Rs 12,256 crore (over 75% of consolidated revenue), dwarfing food delivery’s Rs 2,676 crore. Consolidated net profit for the quarter stood at Rs 102 crore compared to Rs 59 crore a year earlier.