Key Points
- Zepto’s valuation shot up to $5 billion after a $340 million funding round.
- In the last two months, the company has raised over $1 billion.
- General Catalyst led the latest funding, with Dragon Fund and Epiq Capital joining in.
- Existing investors like StepStone, Lightspeed, DST, and Contrary also boosted their investments.
- Zepto is set to increase its dark store count and expand into new cities, aiming for even more growth and profits.
Looma News
Zepto, the hot quick-commerce startup, just bagged another $340 million in a new funding round, pushing its valuation to a cool $5 billion. This follows a massive $665 million raise in June. With this latest funding boost, Zepto has pulled in over $1 billion in just two months, showing off its rapid growth and strong investor confidence.
The recent round was led by General Catalyst, with Dragon Fund and Epiq Capital coming on board as new investors. Longtime backers like StepStone, Lightspeed, DST, and Contrary also decided to pump up their investments, showing they’re still all-in on Zepto’s future. Zepto’s co-founder and CEO, Aadit Palicha, shared that this follow-up funding was a no-brainer for two big reasons. First, having a lead investor like Neeraj Arora from General Catalyst was too good to miss. Second, beefing up their balance sheet is a smart play as Zepto keeps growing fast.
In June, Zepto had big plans to double its dark store count and branch out into new cities like Ahmedabad, Jaipur, and Chandigarh. Palicha said the aim was to expand their reach while staying profitable. With plans to grow from 350 to 700 stores, Zepto wants to reinvest profits from existing locations back into the business to keep the momentum going. It’s all part of a smart strategy to scale up effectively while keeping an eye on the bottom line.
