Zepto files for IPO as quick-commerce competition heats up

Indian quick-commerce—a retail model focused on rapid delivery of groceries and essentials—startup Zepto has unveiled plans for an initial public offering. The IPO could be valued at about $1 billion, putting the company on a path to public markets. The filing, released Monday, shows the startup’s plans to sustain its growth after listing.

The draft prospectus reveals the company’s financial performance for fiscal 2026:

• Operating revenue increased 104% to ₹115.5 billion (around $2.4 billion).
• Advertising revenue rose 151% year-over-year to ₹16.4 billion (about $171 million).
• Net loss grew to ₹59.1 billion (about $617.36 million), compared with ₹47.0 billion (around $492.45 million) the previous year.

Despite remaining loss-making, Zepto’s operational metrics showed expansion. The startup processed 640 million orders in fiscal 2026, while annual transacting users rose to almost 48 million. Even as it expanded its network to 1,139 stores, the company noted that it may continue to incur losses and may not sustain its historical growth rates.

Founded in 2021 by Aadit Palicha and Kaivalya Vohra, Zepto operates in a highly competitive market alongside Blinkit, Swiggy, Amazon, and Flipkart. To fund its expansion, the startup plans to raise ₹80.1 billion (about $837.41 million) through a fresh issue of shares. The IPO will also include an offer-for-sale—a mechanism where existing shareholders sell their shares—of up to 113.5 million shares by investors including Nexus Venture Partners, Contrary, and Razor Ventures. Zepto also stated it may raise ₹16.02 billion (about $167 million) in a pre-IPO placement. The company was valued at $7 billion in its last funding round in October and counts Y Combinator, Nexus Venture Partners, Contrary, and Razor Ventures among its investors.

The filing also disclosed a regulatory hurdle. Zepto’s founders received summonses from India’s anti-money laundering agency, the Enforcement Directorate, in April. The summonses sought information regarding foreign investments, shareholding structures, and other matters under the country’s foreign-exchange laws. The founders subsequently appeared before the agency to provide the requested documents, and the company has not received further communication from the regulator since. To prepare for the domestic listing, Zepto relocated its legal home from Singapore to India last year.

Why it matters

The filing offers a rare look at how one of India’s most closely watched startups plans to sustain its breakneck growth after listing, while highlighting the tension facing venture-backed companies seeking public-market investors before reaching profitability.