Quick commerce startup Zepto has raised $350 million in its latest round of funding, marking the largest 100 per cent domestic fundraise in India’s startup ecosystem, the company announced on Friday. The latest round, which comes ahead of the company’s plans for IPO in the near future, was led by Motilal Oswal’s Private Wealth division with participation from Indian HNIs, family offices, and financial institutions.
These included Raamdeo Agarwal, the Taparia Family Office, Mankind Pharma Family Office, RP Sanjay Goenka Group, Cello Family Office, Haldiram Snacks Family Office, Sekhsaria Family Office, Kalyan Family Office, Happy Forgings Family Office, Mothers Recipe Family Office (Desai Brothers), and individuals like actor Abhishek Bachchan and former Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar.
The latest capital infusion will add to Zepto’s war chest, enabling it to compete with its larger rival Zomato-owned Blinkit and other players in the 10-minute goods delivery model in the e-commerce market including Swiggy Instamart, Flipkart Minutes, Bigbasket, and others.
Speaking on the latest funding, Aadit Palicha, CEO & Co-founder at Zepto said, “When we started this venture, the risk appetite among domestic investors was limited—especially to trust 18-year-olds with their money. Today, we are humbled to have reached a place in India’s economic growth where we’ve not only fostered that trust but also spearheaded a fundraise of this magnitude, which will hopefully set a precedent for the startups that follow.”
The fresh round takes the total fundraising by Zepto this year to $1.3 billion. The company had raised $665 million in June and $340 million in August. It turned unicorn in August 2023 with the $200 million funding round.
The startup delivers grocery to personal care products, household essentials, electronics, toys, apparel and more in over 17 cities through its more than 550 warehouses or dark stores.
The company said its daily order volume is over 7 lakh fulfilled by more than 56,000 delivery partners. Zepto has more than 5,000 employees.
“Motilal Oswal is a strong believer in the future of digital businesses, particularly quick commerce players like Zepto, as potential free cash flow powerhouses. India’s biggest and marquee family office clients of Motilal Oswal Private Wealth share this excitement and have participated in this once-in-a-lifetime journey of value creation,” said Ashish Shanker, MD & CEO, Motilal Oswal Private Wealth.
According to a recent report by Motilal Oswal, Blinkit leads the quick commerce race with a 46 per cent market share followed by Zepto’s 29 per cent share and Swiggy Instamart with a 25 per cent share.