10-Mins Delivery Startup Launched By Indian Teenagers Valued At Rs 6700 Crore! How This Happened?

• The instant grocery delivery startup Zepto has raised $200 million in a funding round headed by Y Combinator. 
• Zepto is now starting a service to deliver coffee, Chai and other cafe items in under 10 minutes in some select areas in Mumbai. The new service is called ‘Zepto Cafe’. 

The instant grocery delivery startup Zepto which was founded by two teenagers, has raised $200 million in a funding round headed by Y Combinator, which has increased its valuation to around $900 million within nine months of launching 10-minute deliveries in India’s rapidly growing quick commerce segment.

The new investor Kaiser Permanente took part in the round that comes less than five months after the startup raised capital previously. Early investors Nexus Venture Partners, Glade Brook Capital and Silicon Valley investor Lachy Groom have all hiked their investments, Zepto  announced on Monday. This brings the company’s total funding to $360 million.

The company was founded by two teenagers 

The company Zepto, named after the minuscule unit of time, was started by two childhood friends Aadit Palicha and Kaivalya Vohra who dropped out of Stanford University’s computer science program to come to India and start an e-commerce company. They are both 19 years old.

Food delivery services are fighting for customer attention

Zepto’s 10-minute delivery promise has prompted rivals such as Google-backed Dunzo, SoftBank Group Corp-backed Blinkit and Naspers Ltd-backed Swiggy. The companies are all fighting for the attention of shoppers in the country’s $1 trillion retail market while competing with already established players Amazon.com Inc. and  Flipkart Online Services Pvt. which is backed by Walmart Inc. 

Zepto has become profitable

The grocery startup founded by these teens has doubled in value to $570 million. Zepto’s revenue has increased by 800% quarter-on-quarter and it has slashed its cash burn by five times on a per-order basis, Palicha, chief executive officer, said in the statement. The startup’s team has grown to more than a 1,000 people and it has become profitable in small micro-markets, or dense city neighborhoods served by a warehouse or dark store. 

Zepto Cafe

Zepto is now starting a service to deliver coffee, Chai and other cafe items in under 10 minutes in some select areas in Mumbai. The new service is called ‘Zepto Cafe’. 

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