High-Profile Exits Continue At Zomato, Cofounder Mohit Gupta Resigns

The exits of top executives refuses to stop at foodtech giant Zomato, with its cofounder Mohit Gupta tendering his resignation on Friday (November 18).

“…I am deciding to move on from Zomato to seek the other unknown adventures that life holds for me…As I look ahead, I am full of excitement for the vision that Zomato, Blinkit, Hyperpure and Feeding India are building towards…. I remain a long only investor in Zomato,” said Gupta in a farewell note to the employees. 

This comes nearly two years after Gupta, who was then the CEO of Zomato’s food delivery vertical, was elevated as cofounder of the Gurguram-based giant. 

An alumni of IIM-Calcutta, Gupta joined Zomato in 2018. Prior to joining the foodtech player, he served as the COO of online travel aggregator MakeMyTrip and also worked with beverage giant PepsiCo International.

Founded in 2008 by Deepinder Goyal and Pankaj Chaddah, Zomato operates multiple verticals including food delivery, quick commerce (Binkit) and B2B supplies (Hyperpure).

While Chaddah left the company after a 10-year stint in 2018, the immediate aftermath saw three other senior executives – Gaurav Gupta, Gunjan Patidar and Mohit Gupta – being elevated as cofounders. 

Gaurav Gupta quit the company in September last year, while Patidar continues to serve as chief technology officer (CTO) of the Gurugram-based company.

Another Day, Another Exit

This comes at a time when the startup has been saddled with top-level exits from the company. Gupta’s resignation comes days after Rahul Ganjoo, head of new initiatives at Zomato, resigned from the company. Before him, Siddharth Jhawar, vice president of global growth, also put in his papers. 

In September, Zomato’s deputy chief financial officer (CFO) Nitin Savara quit the company.

Earlier this month, Zomato closed its app in the UAE, even as it announced the launch of its dining-out feature Zomato Pay in several Indian cities and also in the UAE.

On the other hand, Zomato continues to report heavy losses. The foodtech major racked up INR 250.8 Cr loss in the second quarter (Q2) of the financial year 2022-23 (FY23) as against INR 434.9 Cr during the corresponding quarter of last fiscal year. 

Operating revenue, however, rose 62% year-on-year (YoY) to INR 1,661.3 Cr in Q2 FY23. While the startup has been witnessing an uptick in the operational metrics of its food delivery business, it continues to be weighed down by its quick commerce vertical Blinkit. 

The market’s shares have also been under pressure on the exchanges. From a record high of INR 161.90 in November last year, the stock has crashed by more than 58%. 

Zomato shares ended 0.89% lower at INR 67.15 on the BSE on Friday (November 18).