Zepto has delayed its IPO and is raising ₹1,000 crore in a pre-IPO round at a $4.5 billion valuation down sharply from $7 billion in 2025. The quick commerce firm had targeted a July 2026 listing but is now focused on boosting domestic shareholding first.
Zepto has put its IPO on hold for now and is instead raising ₹1,000 crore in a pre-IPO round at a valuation of $4.5 billion. The quick commerce startup, which had earlier targeted a July 2026 listing, is now focused on boosting domestic shareholding before heading to the markets.
Zepto's Dalal Street debut will have to wait a little longer. The quick commerce startup, which delivers groceries in under 10 minutes, has decided to pause its IPO plans and instead raise around ₹1,000 crore through a pre-IPO funding round, according to sources familiar with the matter. The company did not respond to queries on the development.
The funding round is expected to be led primarily by domestic investors, with the aim of increasing Indian shareholding in the company, which currently stands at around 40 per cent. Existing backers like Glade Brook, General Catalyst, Goodwater Capital, and Nexus Venture Partners are likely to participate in the round.
Valuation Has Come Down Sharply
This round won't be at the numbers Zepto once commanded. The $4.5 billion valuation for this pre-IPO round marks a significant step down from the $7 billion valuation the company held in October 2025, when it raised $450 million in a round led by CalPERS.
The gap between what Zepto wants and what institutional investors are willing to pay has been a sticking point. Fund managers have reportedly been pushing for a price 30–40 per cent below the current $4–5 billion range, partly because Zepto operates only in quick commerce and doesn't have a food delivery business like Swiggy or Eternal (Zomato's parent). That makes a direct comparison with those listed peers a tough sell.
IPO Was Already Planned for July
Zepto's IPO had originally been targeted for July 2026 but has now been put on hold. This isn't the first time either the company had first planned to go public in 2025 before pushing it back due to weak market conditions and valuation concerns. Zepto filed its preliminary IPO papers confidentially with SEBI in December 2025, using the pre-filing route that allows companies to get regulatory feedback without public disclosure.
The Business Is Growing Fast
To be fair, the fundamentals look solid. In FY26, Zepto reported revenue from operations of ₹22,624 crore and processed an average of 17.5 lakh orders per day. The company had 1,139 stores as of March 31, 2026, and served nearly 48 million annual transacting users. During the March 2026 quarter alone, it handled around 210 million orders.
Founded by Stanford dropouts Aadit Palicha and Kaivalya Vohra, Zepto has raised a total of $1.8 billion since inception and has built one of the fastest-growing quick commerce networks in the country.
For now, the IPO clock is paused. Once the pre-IPO round closes and domestic ownership reaches a comfortable level, expect Zepto to make another run at the public markets though a timeline is anyone's guess at this point.