Zepto secures another $340 mn at $5 bn valuation as quick commerce booms

livemint.com:

pre-IPO funding round of $665 million, quick commerce startup Zepto has secured follow-on financing of $340 million led by US-based venture capital firm General Catalyst, taking its valuation to $5 billion. New investors Dragon Fund and Epiq Capital joined the round while existing investors StepStone, Lightspeed, DST and Contrary increased their stakes.

The Mumbai-based company has raced its way to bag some of the biggest funding rounds so far this year, as it reshapes India’s e-commerce sector forcing giants including Walmart-backed Flipkart and Tata’s BigBasket to venture into instant deliveries. Also read | Zepto eyes large orders with dark store expansion According to Aadit Palicha, founder and chief executive officer of Zepto, the new round will enable the firm to strengthen its balance sheet as it gears up to deliver “robust growth and operating leverage." “While these recent financings reflect strong confidence in Zepto’s performance to date, we recognize there is still a lot of execution ahead of us to fulfil our ambition of building a world-class internet company out of India.

At Zepto, we genuinely feel we are just at the beginning of our journey," Palicha said on Friday. The deal also marks one of the first investments by General Catalysts following the acquisition of Venture Highway.

The merged entity plans to invest $500 million to $1 billion across early- and growth-stage investments in the country, Mint had reported in June. Zepto, which is gearing up for a public market listing next year, had gained its coveted unicorn status a year ago, when it raised $200 million at a valuation of $1.4 billion.