Motilal Oswal Financial Services has made a fresh bet on quick commerce player Zepto, investing ₹400 crore for 7.54 crore compulsorily convertible preference shares. The stake purchase, disclosed in a regulatory filing on August 12, strengthens the firm’s position as an existing backer—it had earlier participated in Zepto’s November 2024 funding round.
Strategic Interest from Multiple Players
This isn’t the only recent vote of confidence in Zepto. MapMyIndia (CE Info Systems) invested ₹25 crore earlier this month, along with a deal to integrate its mapping SDKs and APIs to enhance delivery and customer experience. Elcid Investment also came in with ₹7.5 crore at a $5.9 billion valuation. Together, these moves highlight sustained investor appetite for the 10-minute delivery space.
Revenue Surge Fuels Funding Momentum
Operationally, Zepto has been on an upswing. Revenue for FY24 hit ₹4,454.52 crore, more than doubling from ₹2,024.40 crore in FY23. The company is now eyeing a $450–500 million primary capital raise at a $7 billion post-money valuation. While the IPO is being pushed to next year, the war chest is expected to accelerate expansion and strengthen market position.
Anchor Investors and Ownership Shift
The upcoming round is expected to be led by existing investors General Catalyst and Avenir Growth, with pro-rata participation from others. CEO Aadit Palicha has been in talks with Indian institutional investors and family offices to lift domestic ownership ahead of listing. Secondary share sales worth over $100 million have already boosted stakes for Motilal Oswal and Ranjan Pai’s Calypond Capital, while early backers like Rocket Internet have exited.
Currently, Indian investors hold about 40% of Zepto. This is likely to dip to 35% once foreign institutional investors anchor the new round, but the company aims to be majority Indian-owned by the time it lists.
Quick Commerce Battle Intensifies
Zepto’s capital injection will go into expanding its network, deepening tech integrations, and broadening product categories, critical levers for profitability in quick commerce. It faces off against Blinkit (Zomato), Swiggy’s Instamart, BigBasket, and Flipkart Minutes, all of which are scaling dark store networks, widening assortments, and striking brand partnerships to protect market share and margins.
