Indian fast trading startup Zepto has revealed plans for an initial public offering that could be valued at around $1 billion, putting one of Y Combinator’s biggest bets outside the US on the path to the public markets.
He presentationreleased on Monday, offers a rare look at how one of India’s most followed startups plans to sustain its breakneck growth after going public. Zepto’s advertising revenue increased more than 151% year-over-year to Rs 16.4 billion (around $171 million) in fiscal 2026, outpacing the company’s 104% rise in operating income to Rs 115.5 billion (around $2.4 billion).
While grocery deliveries remain Zepto’s core business, the faster growth of its advertising division points to a broader shift in the way the startup makes money, a strategy that Amazon pioneered and turned its marketplace into one of the largest in the world. profitable advertising business selling visibility to the same merchants who compete on their platform.
Founded in 2021 by Stanford dropouts Aadit Palicha and Kaivalya Vohra, Zepto has become one of India’s fastest-growing startups, competing with Zomato-owned Blinkit and Swiggy’s Instamart in the country’s fiercely contested fast commerce market. Amazon and Walmart-backed Flipkart have also intensified their efforts in the segment in recent months.
Despite intense competition, Zepto has continued to add customers and orders at a rapid pace. The startup processed more than 640 million orders in fiscal 2026, according to the draft prospectus, nearly double the previous year, while annual transaction users rose to nearly 48 million. Even as it expanded its network to 1,139 stores, orders per store continued to increase, suggesting that demand is growing along with its presence.
However, that growth comes at a cost. Zepto continues to make losses, reporting a net loss of Rs 59.1 billion (about $617.36 million) in fiscal 2026, compared with Rs 47 billion (about $492.45 million) a year earlier. The startup acknowledged in its filing that it may continue to incur losses and may not be able to maintain its historical growth rates, a standard but telling disclosure that highlights the stress faced by venture capital-backed companies seeking investors in the public market before reaching profitability.
Zepto plans to raise up to Rs 80.1 billion (about $837.41 million) through a fresh share issue. The IPO will also include an offer for sale of up to 113.5 million shares by existing investors including Nexus Venture Partners, Contrary and Razor Ventures, with the final size of the sale depending on the final offering price. The startup also said it could raise up to Rs 16.02 billion (around $167 million) from investors in a pre-IPO placement ahead of listing.
The listing will provide a result closely followed by some of Zepto’s early backers. The start-up was valued at $7 billion in its latest financing round in October and counts Y Combinator, Lachy Groom, Nexus Venture Partners, StepStone, Glade Brook and Lightspeed among its investors.
Several prominent shareholders, including Y Combinator-affiliated funds Lightspeed, StepStone, Groom and Glade Brook, are not participating in the IPO offering, opting to retain their stakes as the startup prepares for its market debut. This is worth pausing: Zepto’s public market valuation remains uncertain, and some mutual funds and family offices that reviewed the company ahead of the IPO have indicated valuations well below its last private round, according to people familiar with the matter.
Zepto’s founders, the document revealed, received subpoenas from India’s anti-money laundering agency, the Enforcement Directorate, in April, seeking information related to foreign investments, the company’s shareholding structure and other matters under the country’s foreign exchange laws.
The two subsequently appeared before the agency and provided the requested information and documents. Zepto said it had not received any further communications from the regulator since then, but warned it could not rule out future inquiries, investigations or sanctions.
The proposed listing marks the culmination of a years-long effort to prepare the startup for its domestic market debut. Zepto moved its legal headquarters from Singapore to India last yearjoining a growing number of startups restructuring their holdings as local public markets become increasingly attractive for tech listings.
When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This does not affect our editorial independence.
