Grocery delivery startup Zepto close to become unicorn after raising $200M at a $900M valuation

Zepto, a grocery delivery startup that claims to deliver groceries in 10-minutes, is now very close to becoming a unicorn startup after raising $200 million (approx. Rs 1,531 crore) in a new financing round at a valuation of $900 million.

Previously, the startup was valued at $570 million when it had raised $100 million in December last year. Interestingly, The new Series D round is majorly participated by the existing investors --  Y Combinator Continuity Fund, Nexus Venture Partners, Glade Brook Capital Partners, and Lachy Groom. US-based Kaiser Permanente Ventures also joined as the new investor in the startup.

Founded by Stanford University dropouts Aadit Palicha and Kaivalya Vohra, Zepto, initially started as KiranaKart, says it will use the raised funds to grow its product and technology team to over 1,000 people in the next few months.

Additionally, The startup will also focus on expanding its presence to 24 cities in the next year from the existing 11, including non-metro cities. Presently, The platform is operational in major metro cities -- Mumbai, Bengaluru, Gurgaon, Hyderabad, Chennai, Ghaziabad, Pune, Noida, Delhi, and Kolkata.

According to Aadit Palicha, Zepto has achieved 800% quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) growth, while it also decreased the burn rate by five times on a per-order basis. Besides grocery and fresh produce, It is also delivering instant cafe items such as coffee, chai, and bakery products.

Apart from this, Zepto is also planning to reserve a big chunk of funds for possible consolidation in the market. Zepto operates out of a network of ‘cloud stores’ or micro-warehouses to fulfill orders within the time frame. These stores, also known as dark stores, are small warehouses located in the heart of a city through which orders can be delivered faster.

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