Blinkit has secured a fresh equity infusion of six hundred crore rupees from its parent company Eternal, strengthening its balance sheet at a time when the quick commerce sector is witnessing heightened spending and rapid expansion. The funding, disclosed in a filing with the Registrar of Companies, takes Eternal’s total investment in Blinkit this year to two thousand six hundred crore rupees. Eternal, which also operates food-delivery giant Zomato, had previously committed fifteen hundred crore rupees in February and another five hundred crore rupees in January.
The capital comes as Blinkit accelerates its dark store rollout. The company wants its network to reach three thousand micro-warehouses by March 2027. By the end of September, the network stood at one thousand eight hundred and sixteen. This nationwide expansion remains expensive. For the July to September quarter, Blinkit reported operating losses of one hundred fifty six crore rupees. The loss was slightly lower than the previous quarter but significantly higher than the eight crore rupees reported in the same period last year, reflecting the scale of its expansion.
An Eternal spokesperson described the latest investment as a routine capital infusion to support Blinkit’s operating requirements, network expansion, working capital and capital expenditure. Internally, Blinkit’s management has pointed to factors such as higher marketing spends, more store launches and continued investment in warehousing and supply chain upgrades as reasons for the slower-than-expected improvement in margins. Despite this, CEO Albinder Dhindsa reiterated that the company will continue prioritising long-term growth over short-term profitability.
Competition in the sector has intensified. Bengaluru-based rival Zepto recently closed a four hundred fifty million dollar fundraise and cut several customer fees to boost demand. Instamart operator Swiggy is preparing a ten thousand crore rupee qualified institutional placement, while BigBasket’s consumer business has raised two hundred crore rupees in debt from DBS Bank for dark store expansion.
