Zepto bags $665 mln at $3.6 bln valuation ahead of IPO next year

livemint.com:

Mint had reported that the grocery delivery company is looking to set up larger dark stores to stock a larger assortment of grocery and e-commerce products like cosmetics and gifting items.“If we are able to achieve this while continuing to delight customers, I believe we will be ready to go public relatively soon," he added.Founded by Aadit Palicha and Kaivalya Vohra in 2021, Zepto shot to fame after it secured upwards of $150 million in funding from marquee investors such as Y Combinator and Nexus Venture Partners within months of inception. It attained unicorn status last year after bagging $200 million in Series E funding led by US private equity firm StepStone Group, along with Goodwater Capital, Nexus Venture Partners and Glade Brook Capital.The startup is now planning an initial public offering sometime next year, aiming for a multi-billion dollar listing on the back of a healthy balance sheet, Palicha said.Over the last few months, Zepto has introduced several new initiatives to diversify its revenue streams and improve its margins.For instance, Zepto Pass, its loyalty programme with monthly prices starting at ₹19, saw more than a million customers sign up to it within a week of launch in February, according to the company.

Now, the programme has more than 4.5 million subscribers, Palicha told Mint.“The most exciting part about this next phase of Zepto’s journey are the major new projects that will [provide a] 10X customer experience, from launching new categories to expanding initiatives like Zepto Pass. To build out this roadmap, we plan to hire top talent across engineering, product, growth, finance, operations, and category management," said Kaivalya Vohra, co-founder and chief technology officer, on