TL;DRZepto delayed its IPO after public investors valued it at under half its $7 billion peak, turning to private funding instead
Zepto, the Indian quick commerce startup that hit a seven billion dollar valuation less than a year ago, has shelved its IPO plans after public market investors offered roughly half that amount. The company is now turning to a private share sale targeting existing major investors at a valuation of around four and a half billion dollars, according to Bloomberg. Co-founder Aadit Palicha told employees in a town hall that the delay would last one to two quarters.
The gap between private and public valuations is the core issue. Zepto raised $450 million in October 2025 at the seven billion dollar mark, but when it tested the waters with public market investors earlier this year, the response came back between two and a half billion and three billion dollars. That kind of discount made listing untenable for a company that had positioned itself as one of India’s fastest-growing startups.
Zepto is not short on cash. The company reported a balance of 5,681 crore rupees, roughly $596 million, at the end of March and carries no debt. But it is burning through that cushion quickly, with losses jumping 26 percent year-on-year in the fiscal year ending March 2026 to 5,905 crore rupees, even as revenue doubled over the same period.
