Zepto, a fast-growing quick-commerce unicorn headquartered in Mumbai, secured an additional $31.25 million in funding through a Series E round, with investments coming from Goodwater Capital and Nexus Venture Partners.
Furthermore, angel investors, including Oliver and Lish Jung, as well as Mangum II LLC, were noted to have taken part in the funding round, as indicated in the company’s disclosures to Singapore’s Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA).
Back in August, the quick-commerce unicorn Zepto secured $200 million in its Series E funding round, reaching a valuation of $1.4 billion. This milestone made it the sole unicorn of 2023. While the startup remained tight-lipped about how it intended to utilize the newly acquired funds, it did reveal its ambition to pursue an initial public offering by 2025.
Established in 2021 by Aadit Palicha and Kaivalya Vohora, Zepto capitalized on the surge in demand for swift e-commerce delivery brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic. The company garnered significant recognition when it successfully raised $60 million in funding in November 2021, with notable investors like Glade Brook Capital, Nexus, and Y Combinator participating in the investment.
Zepto competes head-to-head with rivals such as Swiggy’s Instamart, Blinkit (owned by Zomato), and Dunzo (backed by Reliance).
Industry experts suggest that Zepto may need to secure funding approximately every 12-15 months to expedite its revenue growth and stay competitive in the market alongside players like Zomato’s Blinkit and Swiggy’s Instamart, both of which enjoy a similar revenue mix advantage.
The recently turned unicorn experienced a notable 3.35X surge in its net loss for the fiscal year ending on March 31, 2023. As per the company’s claims, the quick commerce startup reported a net loss of INR 1,272.4 Cr in the financial year 2022-23 (FY23), marking a substantial 226% increase from INR 390.3 Cr in the preceding financial year.
Its revenue from operations skyrocketed, expanding by 14.3 times to reach INR 2,024.3 crore in FY23 from INR 140.7 crore in FY22. The total income, encompassing other sources of revenue, surged to INR 2,077.6 crore from INR 142.3 crore in the previous fiscal year.
Read More: Zepto’s FY23 revenue soars to INR 2,024 Cr with 14-fold growth, but losses triple
Despite the growth in revenue, Zepto continues to grapple with escalating losses, suggesting that its profit margins may not improve unless a significant portion of the dark stores turns profitable or it ventures into additional business verticals.
