Quick commerce platform Zepto is planning to launch its ₹11,000-crore IPO in July, with founders Aadit Palicha and Kaivalya Vohra targeting to list before July 31. The company has received IPO approval from Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) earlier this month and is expected to submit its Updated Draft Red Herring Prospectus (UDRHP) to the regulator in the coming weeks. The Bengaluru-based startup filed its IPO papers in December 2025 using the secret route, positioning itself to become the third listed Indian food delivery and quick commerce platform after Swiggy and Zomato. If the listing materialises, Zepto will join existing quick commerce peers Zomato and Swiggy in the public markets.
According to recent analysis by brokerage firm Bernstein, Zepto has overtaken competitor Instamart in operational metrics, with the company operating nearly 1,255 dark stores across 61 cities compared to Instamart's 1,181 dark stores spanning 128 cities. Zepto's daily order volume stands at nearly 1.6 million compared to Instamart's estimated 1.2 million, demonstrating superior market penetration and consumer engagement. The company's metro strategy emphasizes dense metropolitan clusters to enhance consumer engagement, purchase frequency, and delivery speed, with Zepto maintaining the highest store-to-pincode ratio in the category according to Bernstein. This approach differs from competitors in its strategy, focusing on increasing market density rather than aggressive geographic expansion.
Despite being a major player in India's competitive quick commerce sector, Zepto faces profitability challenges. The company's net loss widened to ₹3,367 crore in FY25, representing an increase from the previous year. Achieving positive profit after tax (PAT) is a declared objective of the corporation, with becoming profitable set as the target for FY26. The company last raised $450 million in October 2025 in a mix of primary and secondary transactions, which valued the company at $7 billion. Zepto has raised over $2.3 billion to date and counts notable investors including Epiq Capital, Dragon Fund, General Catalyst, Y Combinator and DST Global. The company plans to use IPO proceeds to invest in technological and operational improvements, including artificial intelligence and supply chain intelligence, while also broadening its dark shop network to compete more aggressively.
The quick commerce market presents significant growth opportunities, with India's quick commerce market projected to become a $40 billion opportunity by 2030, according to Inc42 data. As per Inc42 projections, quick commerce players are expected to clock $68 billion in gross merchandise value (GMV) by 2031, up from $8.3 billion currently. The sector is witnessing aggressive expansion as companies invest heavily to capture larger market share. Most recently, Amazon announced it would invest ₹2,800 crore in India, primarily to expand its quick commerce service Amazon Now to 100 cities across the country. Flipkart is also aggressively investing to ramp up its dark store network. The intensifying competition in the quick commerce segment, with users increasingly switching platforms based on delivery speed, pricing and product availability, has led to aggressive expansion strategies across the industry.
