Dr. Kushal Sanghvi’s Post

Zepto is set to raise $650M, boosting its valuation to $3.5B! Zepto, the leading instant grocery delivery platform, is gearing up for a significant funding round led by Nexus Venture Partners and StepStone Group, alongside Glade Brook Capital Partners LLC, Avenir Growth, Lightspeed Venture Partners, DST Global and avra. This round will more than double Zepto’s previous valuation. Founded in 2021, Zepto has rapidly emerged as a major player in the quick commerce space, known for its 10-minute deliveries. Despite facing tough competition, Zepto handles 550,000 orders daily across 340 dark stores in seven cities and has achieved a staggering 1,339% revenue growth in FY23. Notably, Zepto's success also highlights the advantage of on-demand delivery in countries with a pay gap. Unlike Western countries, where the high costs of picking, packing, and last-mile delivery personnel are challenging to cover with thin margins, markets like India can leverage lower labor costs to sustain and scale these services effectively. Similar successful cases are Migros One in Turkey or toters delivery in Lebanon and Iraq. With ambitious plans for an IPO in the next 2-3 years, Zepto is poised to reshape the quick delivery landscape in India. #Startup #Funding #GroceryDelivery #TechNews #IPO #GrowthStrategy #Zepto #QuickCommerce #MarketAdvantage

#ecommerce #startup #startupindia #fundingalert #startupfunding E-commerce platform BuyEazzy has raised $4.25 million in its Series A round led by Info Edge Ventures with participation from existing Pg investors Incubate Fund Asia and M Venture Partners. Founded in May 2021 by Rahul Aggarwal and Hariher B, BuyEazzy offers a convenient online shopping experience with access to a wide assortment, competitive prices, and reliable delivery. Read on

Zepto, the country's only standalone quick commerce player, has raised $665 million in a funding round more than doubling its valuation to $3.6 billion, post-money. This sets the stage for the quick commerce battle to heat up with rivals like Zomato-owned Blinkit, public-markets-bound Swiggy Instamart and Tata Digital-owned BigBasket also scaling operations. Zepto is a quick commerce app that delivers online groceries, fruits, vegetables, personal care items, and electronics to customers within minutes. As a top startup in India, Zepto secured the number one spot on LinkedIn's 'Top Startups List 2023', surpassing its fourth-place finish the previous year. In August, the company achieved unicorn status with $200 million in fresh funding during its Series E round. With a strong focus on fintech and edtech industries, Zepto continues to innovate and revolutionize the market. Nexus Venture Partners, Lightspeed, DST Global, Glade Brook Capital Partners LLC, StepStone Group, Avenir, Lachy Groom, Goodwater, avra Aadit Palicha #innovation #management #digitalmarketing #technology #creativity #futurism #startups

Zepto to raise another $400M !! After securing a massive $665 million in funding and doubling its valuation to $3.6 billion, Zepto is already planning to raise an additional $400 million. But why is Zepto raising funds back-to-back?  The goal seems to be clear – expansion. Zepto plans to use these funds to double its network of dark stores from 350 to 700 by March 2025. Additionally, there is also a focus on enhancing its infrastructure and scaling up its quick-delivery service, Zepto Cafe – a crucial move to stay ahead in the highly competitive quick-commerce market, where rivals like Blinkit and Swiggy are also aggressively expanding. Both these fundraises underscore the company’s ambitious growth strategy and strong market position. With this, a potential IPO is imminent soon. The additional funds will not only support growth but also drive towards company-wide EBITDA profitability. #Zepto #Funding #Startup #QuickCommerce

"Zepto is still experiencing increasing losses despite revenue growth, which indicates its profit margins will not increase unless a substantial portion of the dark stores becomes profitable or it diversifies into other business verticals" -Inc42 Media •Darkstores and microwarehouses: -The real game-changer has been effective implementation of #darkstore concept. Zepto operates through a network of dark stores, which are small warehouses located in dense neighborhoods. You can't buy groceries in a dark shop like you can in a typical retail setting. Only the members of Zepto's staff and its merchants have access to dark shops. -Zepto is only able to do some deliveries in under 10 minutes because of dark shops. They can deliver your purchase promptly because they are located close to a busy urban area. ~These dark stores are stocked with a wide variety of groceries, and Zepto's delivery riders can quickly pick them up and deliver them to customers. Each store has 10-15 employees on average, who help in packaging and executing the order. Though dark store concept existed for long in the UK, Tescos being a major player, grocery delivery companies tried it for the first time in India between 2014 and 2018. The high cost of operations and low customer intent to buy grocery online rather than local Kiryana stores, failed the concept. ✅️ The time was ripe for the resurgence of this business model, right after the pandemic, when customers had already gotten accustomed to online ordering. Zepto’s market entry timing and choice of location of dark stores, coupled with new benchmark setting in delivery speed, has led to its quick success in the category !! *(source: Zepto’s Dark Stores Minting Bright Fortunes https://lnkd.in/gS3G-dVf Parik Jain #startupfunding #indianstartup #startup

Zomato owned quick commerce company Blinkit was incorporated as Grofers in 2013. It secured its maiden round in 2015 from Tiger Global Management and Sequoia Capital (Peak XV Partners). It subsequently raised another round from existing investors two months later. By the end of the year Blinkit had acquired two companies and raked in another funding round. The company earned its unicorn title in 2021 after received a heavy investment from Zomato. It soon rebranded itself to Blinkit. A year after joining the unicorn food tech platform Zomato acquired Blinkit for $568 million; it completed the acquisition by the end of 2022. 2023 was a busy year for the startup. It faced a legal battle over Blinkit v/s Blinkhit, it shut down 100 dark stores due to rider’s protest, and turned profitable for the first time since its acquisition. Urban Company | Hyperpure by Zomato | KTB network | Mavyn - Your Digital Logistics Partner | Townrush ( Acquired by Grofers ) | SoftBank Group Corp. | Albinder Dhindsa #blinkit #zomato #quickcommerce #FY23 #Timeline #startups #financials #funding #unicorn

Consumer houseware startup Basil has raised Rs 3.6 crore in a seed funding round co-led by IIMA Ventures and Appreciate Capital. The round also saw participation from angel investors such as Mohit Sadaani, Koo co-founder Aprameya Radhakrishna, Abhishek Goyal, Malini Adapureddy and Magicpin co-founder Brij Bhushan. The funds will be allocated towards bolstering its D2C play and expanding reach via e-commerce channels and product portfolio. Co-founded in 2023 by Harini Rajagopalan and Mahesh Muraleedharan, Basil is a direct-to-consumer startup offering tailored products that are particularly appealing to Gen Alpha and their millennial parents. Basil’s water bottles and Bento boxes represent a strategic response to a significant market gap that exists in the industry. Basil aims to empower this space by infusing it with breakthrough designs based on market needs, premium materials, functional designs, and aesthetic appeal. Its products are currently available pan-India on their D2C platform, as well as on marketplaces such as Amazon. #venturecapital #investment #funding

Zepto turns unicorn, ending nearly a year-long dry spell ************************************************************** Zepto founders Kaivalya Vohra and Aadit Palicha Quick commerce platform Zepto has entered the coveted unicorn club after raising $200 million in fresh funding at a valuation of $1.4 billion. Who are the investors? StepStone Group and Goodwater Capital as well as existing backers Nexus Venture Partners (where StepStone is a limited partner) GladeBrook Capital, and individual investor Lachy Groom, participated in this round. The startup had last raised $200 million in May 2022, at a valuation of $900 million. Amid funding slump: Zepto’s fundraising is significant given the slump in investments into growth- and late-stage startups and a correction in the quick commerce segment this year. The company’s rival, Reliance Retail-backed Dunzo, has seen a sharp downturn in its consumer business and is struggling to close new financing to clear its pending dues. Also, the Markdown detour slows fresh funds delivery to Dunzo Zepto also competes with the likes of Zomato-owned Blinkit, Swiggy Instamart, and BigBasket's BB Now. What will the funds be used for? Zepto cofounder and CEO Aadit Palicha told us that the company will primarily use the funds to invest in growth while targeting EBITDA profitability in the next 12-15 months. Zepto is planning to expand its presence in existing markets, and also aims to invest more in its add-on offerings, such as Zepto Cafe, which delivers beverages and snacks in 10 to 20 minutes from its dark stores, he added. IPO in focus: Palicha added that Zepto may look to go public in about 24 months, as it wants to remain EBITDA profitable for about three quarters before hitting the public markets

Zepto, a Quick commerce company, has secured $665 million in its Series F funding round from new investors Avenir, Lightspeed, and Avra (Anu Hariharan’s new fund), among others. 🌟 Key Highlights: Some of the existing investors Glade Brook, Nexus, and StepStone co-led the round with Goodwater and Lachy Groom doubling down their stakes as well. As per the startup, the funding will be used to compete with other two deep-pocketed players, BlinkIt and Swiggy Instamart. Unlike the West, quick commerce operators in India claim to have found a sustainable model. About Zepto: Founded by Stanford dropouts Aadit Palicha and Kaivalya Vohra, who founded Zepto in 2021, have secured backing from existing investors led by Glade Brook Capital, StepStone Group, and Nexus Venture Partners. Others include Goodwater Capital and Lachy Groom. Visit the link to read the detailed news piece: https://lnkd.in/gikxfBfH #startup #funding #news #startupfunding #latestnews #news #zepto #quick #commerce #delivery

🚀 Exciting news in the online grocery space! Zepto is gearing up to raise $650 million in a fresh funding round, boosting its valuation to an impressive $3.5 billion from $1.4 billion. This marks their second fundraise this year. 🎉 📈 The latest round will see participation from existing investors like StepStone Group, Nexus Venture Partners, and Glade Brook Capital, alongside new backers Avenir Growth, Lightspeed Venture Partners, DST Global, and Avra. 🌟 💼 Zepto's previous funding round in August last year secured $200 million at a $1.4 billion valuation, with investments from StepStone Group, Goodwater Capital, and more. 📊 The startup has shown remarkable growth, with a 1,339% increase in revenue (year-on-year) in FY23, reaching Rs 2,024 crore from Rs 142.36 crore in FY22. However