Good funding
Two youngsters in Mumbai started a startup and it is now in news after its funding became talk of the town. Zepto, an instant grocery delivery startup founded by two teenagers, has raised Rs 4300 crore as its total valuation in a new series of funding. Zepto’s newest funding of $100 million in a funding round led by Y Combinator, comes 45 days after a previous capital raise of $60 million. The startup has received good funding within five months of starting operations. The startup was started by Aadit Palicha and his childhood friend Kaivalya Vohra, both having 19 years of age.
Both the teenagers who are Stanford University dropouts came to know about instant grocery stores after their return to India. The startup, which promises to deliver grocery and daily essentials in 10 minutes, started in Mumbai earlier this year. Later it was expanded to Bangalore, Delhi, Gurugram, Hyderabad and Pune. The company has 100 dark stores, or micro-warehouses. These dark stores can deliver 2,500 deliveries daily. It uses technology to perform tasks such as deciding store locations, product placement and mapping out delivery routes to avoid traffic congestion. The startup now delivers more than 2,500 items. They include fresh produce, cooking essentials, snacks and beverages, personal care items and home cleaning products.
Plans expansion
The company now aims to increase its 400-member team. In the coming nine months, the firm strives to make appointments in marketing, supply chain and finance and make it a 800-member team, Aadit Palicha said. The startup is getting one lakh customers in a week, of which 60 percent are women. Lockdown had helped Aadit Palicha and Kaivalya Vohra to flourish their business. Zepto is competing against startups like SoftBank Group Corp.-backed Blinkit, Google-backed Dunzo and Naspers Ltd.-backed Swiggy, as well as Amazon.com Inc. and Walmart Inc.-backed Flipkart. These youngsters are setting an example to other entrepreneurs in grabbing opportunities and implementing it wisely.
.
