Zepto Raises $450 Million At $7 Billion Valuation

Quick commerce major Zepto on Thursday said that it has raised USD 450 million (about Rs 3,757.5 crore) in a funding round led by the California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) at a valuation of USD 7 billion.

The funding comes nearly a year after its USD 350 million funding round in November last year, which valued the firm at USD 5 billion.

"We've closed nearly USD 450 million, and most of that is primary. The valuation of the company was USD 7 billion by the time it closed. A couple of investors participated, but the largest cheque individually came from CalPERS...We are considering it a pre-IPO round, and we are hoping to file our IPO soon.

"We now have approximately USD 900 million of net cash in the bank and are more than well-capitalised for the future," Zepto CEO and Co-Founder Aadit Palicha told PTI.

As the firm heads towards public listing, Palicha said domestic ownership within the company will soon increase to 40 per cent in a few weeks, from the current 12 per cent.

The fundraiser comes on the heels of investor confidence rising, with Zepto recording close to 1.7 million orders per day and a majority of its stores turning towards profitability, Palicha said.

"When we closed this financing, we had more profitable stores in our network than the entire network that existed last year," he said.

The funds raised will be primarily used by Zepto for maintaining a healthy balance sheet and supporting moderate expansion. The company intends to keep improving its bottom line while continuing to grow order volume. Although there is no fixed spending plan, a portion of the new capital will go toward launching a few hundred new stores over the next 12 months.

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