Zepto to soon hit Dalal Street, files confidential draft papers for over $1.3 billion IPO: Report

Aadit Palicha-led quick commerce major Zepto has reportedly pre-filed draft papers with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) for an IPO of about $1.3 billion, or roughly Rs 11,600 crore, according to the Economic Times report.

The company is looking to raise around Rs 11,000 crore through a fresh issue of shares, with the remaining portion expected to come from an offer for sale by early investors.

The four-year-old startup received shareholder approval for the proposed IPO at an extraordinary general meeting held on December 23. Morgan Stanley, Axis Capital, HSBC, Goldman Sachs, JM Financial, IIFL Securities and Motilal Oswal are the bankers to the issue, the report noted.

Zepto is expected to go public in the July-September quarter of 2026, which would make it the youngest VC-funded new-age startup in India to tap public markets.

The company has opted for SEBI's confidential filing route, a mechanism earlier used by companies such as Swiggy, Meesho and Groww. This allows issuers to revise the size and structure of the offering closer to the launch.

The report comes amid intensifying competition in India’s quick commerce segment. Zepto competes with Eternal-owned Blinkit and Swiggy’s Instamart, both of which are well capitalised. Swiggy raised Rs 10,000 crore earlier this month through a qualified institutional placement after largely exhausting the Rs 4,500 crore it raised via its IPO in November last year.

Eternal had raised Rs 8,500 crore through a QIP in 2024. Other competitors include Flipkart Minutes, Amazon Now and BigBasket.

According to regulatory filings with the Registrar of Companies, Zepto reported total sales of Rs 9,669 crore in FY25, up 129% from the previous year. Net losses, however, widened sharply to Rs 3,367 crore from Rs 1,214 crore in FY24.

As of late November, the company had around Rs 7,000 crore in cash on its books, compared with an estimated Rs 17,000-18,000 crore each at Swiggy and Eternal.

In October, Zepto raised $450 million in a mix of primary and secondary transactions, valuing the company at about $7 billion. The round was led by US pension fund California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS), with participation from existing investors including Lightspeed, General Catalyst and Avenir Growth. Around $300 million of the round was primary capital.

Founded in 2020 by Aadit Palicha and Kaivalya Vohra, Zepto was initially launched as KiranaKart, offering 45-minute deliveries through neighbourhood stores. Within months, the company pivoted to a dark-store model and rebranded as Zepto in April 2021, promising 10-minute deliveries starting in Mumbai.

Since then, it has expanded to most major Indian cities. While the company undertook cost-cutting measures over the past year after rapid expansion, it has again accelerated growth following its October fundraise.

To date, Zepto has raised over $2.4 billion from investors such as Lightspeed Venture Partners, Y Combinator and Nexus Venture Partners.

If the proposed listing goes through as planned, Zepto would join Swiggy and Eternal as listed players in the quick commerce space.