Zepto CEO Snaps Back, Pure EV Gears Up For IPO & More

Q-Commerce Wars: It’s Now Goyal Vs Palicha

A war of words has erupted between quick commerce titans Zepto and Zomato. Foodtech major Zomato’s CEO Deepinder Goyal kicked off a controversy after he claimed that rival Zepto alone potentially accounted for half of the estimated INR 5,000 Cr quarterly burn witnessed by the quick commerce ecosystem. 

Responding to the allegations, Zepto cofounder and CEO Aadit Palicha termed Goyal’s comments “verifiably untrue”. While asserting that the statement of Zomato’s CEO could have been taken out of context, Palicha said that truth will come to the fore once Zepto publicly files its financial statements. 

So, what could have potentially ticked off Goyal’s comments? With FY25 still underway, a glance at Zepto’s financial footing reveals that the quick commerce major spent INR 5,747.21 Cr in FY24, up 72%, while doubling its revenues to INR 4,454 Cr, up 120% YoY. What this means is that Zepto spent nearly INR 130 to harvest INR 100.

However, the heavy cash burn is not without reason. Amid the ongoing dog fight in the quick commerce arena, companies have been spending copious amounts of capital to expand their dark store network, offer discounts and, in some cases, free deliveries, to retain and woo new customers. 

While it remains to be seen who has the last laugh, let’s steal a glance at the verbal duel between the top executives of India’s biggest quick commerce giants. Continue reading… 

From The Editor’s Desk

Pure EV Gears Up For IPO: The EV maker’s board passed a special resolution in September last year to change the status of its parent, PuR Energy, from private to public. This comes as the company has been looking to list on the bourses later thi0s year. 

InsuranceDekho Nets $70 Mn: The insurtech major has raised the capital in a round co-led by existing backers. Including the current fundraise, the insurance arm of the online car marketplace, CarDekho, has raised more than $400 Mn to date. 

OYO To Expedite IPO Plans: The travel tech major’s creditors want the company to expedite IPO plans or cough up $383 Mn that OYO owes as part of a loan package. The creditors are willing to push the recovery date to 2027 only if the company gets listed this year.

Purplle Nets INR 100 Cr: In an internal cash transfer, the beauty ecommerce major has raised the fresh capital from its parent, Manash E-commerce Private Limited, by issuing 1.13 Lakh shares at an issue price of INR 8,824 each.

JFS To Buy SBI’s Stake In Jio Payments Bank: The Reliance-backed financial services giant is acquiring SBI’s stake in its subsidiary Jio Payments Bank for INR 104.54 Cr. After this, Jio Payments will become a wholly owned Subsidiary of JFS. 

Nuuk Bags INR 40 Cr: The D2C home appliances brand has raised the capital in its Series A round led by Vertex Ventures. Backed by the likes of Good Capital and other angel investors, the startup has raised INR 65 Cr to date.

ICICI Securities Bullish On Zomato & Swiggy: Amid bearish investor sentiments that have dented valuations of foodtech majors Zomato and Swiggy, the brokerage sees a potential upswing by May. It has given Swiggy a price target of INR 740 and Zomato of INR 310.

M2P Fintech’s FY24 Show: The B2B-focussed fintech startup reported a loss of INR 133.5 Cr in FY24, up a mere 0.15% from INR 133.3 Cr in the previous fiscal year. The startup’s operating revenue, however, slipped 13.3% YoY to INR 382 Cr in FY24. 

Inc42 Startup Spotlight

How Anscer Robotics Is Transforming Warehouses With Mobile Robots

Process automation is witnessing heavy adoption across the board in the country as many companies are looking to automate mundane tasks at their factories to save cost on operations. Looking to capitalise on this is Anscer Robotics. 

Founded in 2020 by Ribin Mathew, Ebin Sunny, Raghu Venkatesh, and Brijesh CA, Anscer Robotics develops intelligent autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) for warehouses, manufacturing plants, and logistics centres.

The Bengaluru-based startup sells its flagship products to companies and also offers Robot-as-a-Service to its clients. The startup also helps its clients with AI and ML-backed systems to improve warehouse and logistic operations. It counts  Bajaj, Mahindra, Samsung, and Tata as part of its clientele. 

Backed by Info Edge Ventures, the startup has raised $2 Mn in funding to date. Going forward, Anscer plans to expand its product range and scale operations to new geographies globally.