In 2020, two Mumbai-based teens, Aadit Palicha and Kaivalya Vohra got admission into the Standford University's most revered Computer Science Engineering program. However, they soon quit from there to start a business focused on grocery delivery.
Palicha and Kaivalya chose grocery delivery as there was a huge demand for the service post the pandemic induced lockdowns in India.
Now, Zepto, the duo's grocery delivery app, has raised $60 million funds through investors like Glade Brook Capital and Y Combinator, to bolster its presence across India's fast-growing grocery delivery market, Bloomberg reported.
Firm Plans To Expand Operations in Cities Like Chennai, Hyderabad Soon
Zepto, which promises to deliver groceries within 10 minutes was launched earlier this year. On Sunday, 31 October, the company said in a statement that it already had the backing of investors like Nexus Venture, Global Founders and Silicon Valley angel investors Lachy Groom and Neeraj Arora.
The start-up reportedly is valued "between $200 million and $300 million."
"Q-Commerce in India is an opportunity of epic proportions, We're consistently growing 200% every single month," Palicha said in a statement, Bloomberg reported.
The Mumbai-based startup is up against other big players in the online grocery delivery scene like Grofers, that is backed by the SoftBank Group, and Dunzo, which has the backing from Google.
Making the best use of its network of micro-warehouses, which are commonly called as cloud or dark stores in the industry, the start-up aims to raise the bar and deliver groceries at the neighborhoods of Mumbai, Bangalore and Delhi within 10 minutes.
In the coming weeks, Zepto also plans to start operations at cities including Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Pune.
(With inputs from Bloomberg)
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