Zepto co-founder and CEO Aadit Palicha has accused the chief financial officer of a competing company of orchestrating a smear campaign against his quick commerce platform. In a LinkedIn post on late Sunday, Palicha, not taking names, alleged that the CFO of one of Zepto's competitor firms has been reaching out to Zepto's investors with unsubstantiated claims, distributing false financial data to journalists, and employing bots to spread negative narratives about Zepto on social media.
Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal's scathing remarks on Indian startup ecosystem and its innovation priorities have drawn sharp reaction from the industry, with Zepto CEO Aadit Palicha putting up a strong defence citing the company's contribution to jobs, FDI and terming it a "miracle in Indian innovation".
Mukesh Ambani has reclaimed his position as the richest Indian, overtaking Gautam Adani, according to the M3M Hurun India Rich List 2025 released on Wednesday. With a wealth of Rs. 9.55 lakh crore ($105 billion), the 68-year-old Reliance chairman returned to the top spot, while Adani, 63, and his family followed closely with Rs. 8.15 lakh crore.
'The startup ecosystem, the government, and the owners of large pools of Indian capital need to actively support the creation of these local champions, not pull down the teams that are trying hard to get there.'
Quick commerce company Zepto has completed a reverse flip from Singapore to India to become an Indian parent's entity ahead of its proposed IPO. Its co-founder and CEO Aadit Palicha, in a post on LinkedIn, described it as a historic milestone for the Indian startup ecosystem and an inflection point that represents long-term confidence in the liquidity and depth of Indian capital markets.
'A lot of youngsters are hired because senior people do not want to work in such a culture and these people are made to work 14 hours a day atleast.'
'Domestic investors are opening up to the idea of high-growth Internet companies as a pool of value creation.' 'They like the execution that they see with Zepto, and for us, that is the most important factor.'
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has sought a meeting with quick-commerce (qcom) platforms like Blinkit, Swiggy Instamart and Zepto on Tuesday to discuss issues regarding violations of food safety standards, according to sources familiar with the matter. This comes at a time when there have been issues raised about food safety standard violations by qcom platforms for packaged food products, including violations related to expiry and best before dates.
... catch up with Blinkit, Swiggy Instamart and Zepto...
Recouping the dent caused by the Hindenburg Research report, Gautam Adani's networth shot up 95 per cent to Rs 11.6 lakh crore last year, which helped him replace Mukesh Ambani to become the richest Indian, a report said on Thursday. Reliance Industries chairman and managing director Ambani's overall networth increased by 25 per cent to Rs 10.14 lakh crore, as per the 2024 Hurun India Rich List. In 2023's report, Adani's wealth declined by 57 per cent to Rs 4.74 lakh crore, and Ambani was way ahead with a fortune of Rs 8.08 lakh crore.
Flush with funds, quick commerce unicorn Zepto is planning to relocate from Powai in Mumbai to a larger office space in Bengaluru's Sarjapur to accommodate its imminent new hires. While the company will maintain an office in Mumbai, its primary operations will shift to the new space in Bengaluru. A spokesperson for Zepto confirmed the development
At a time when Flipkart has entered the quick-commerce race with a service called "Minutes", executives at rival players said they are in a wait-and-watch mode. They said they would be concerned only once the e-commerce firm is able to succeed in this space. The Walmart-owned firm's quick-commerce service has gone live in some parts of Bengaluru, putting it in competition with firms such as Zepto, Swiggy's Instamart, and Zomato's Blinkit.
Quick commerce major Zepto has raised $340 million in a follow-on financing round at a valuation of $5 billion as it gears up for an initial public offering (IPO). This is Zepto's third big-ticket fundraise within a year. With this, the company has raised more than $1 billion in 12 months.
After making the model work in metro cities, players in the quick commerce sector are rapidly expanding their footprint into smaller tier 2 cities and markets beyond that ahead of the festival season.
Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal's recent comments on large e-commerce players have reignited the debate about their impact on smaller offline retailers. On Wednesday, Goyal said that the rapid growth of e-commerce in India is a "cause for concern" and is diminishing the market share of small, mom-and-pop stores by offering high-margin products such as consumer electronics and apparel at discounted rates.
In 2024 so far, 20 startups have already visited the campus with 80 placements.
'In the second half of 2024, about 60% of startup jobs will be taken by entry-level candidates with 0-3 years of experience.'
The tide of startup-funding is turning in India, with a rising trend of overall funding while the deal sizes grow bigger. However, the spotlight now is on late-stage startups, many of which are seen to be headed for initial public offerings (IPOs). Record surge in stock markets and consistently improving performances of listed startups are understood to have turned the sentiment for the better, especially for those that exhibit a clear path to an IPO.
As the Men in Blue took on Australia in an intriguing ICC Men's Cricket World Cup final in Ahmedabad on Sunday, the orders on quick delivery platforms reflected the pulsating mood of the nation.
Quick commerce is proving to be a solid business proposition, with companies like Zomato's Blinkit and Y Combinator-backed Zepto recently registering growth, charting paths to profitability. Blinkit logged its highest gross order value (GOV) and customer transactions in June and July, showing a positive contribution for the first time in the quarter ended June 2023. Deepinder Goyal, Zomato's co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO), predicted that Blinkit would deliver more value to shareholders than the core food delivery business in the next decade.
Quick commerce startups hope to race towards better days. Can they crack the execution code?
India may get its first unicorn this year as Zepto, which promises 10-minute deliveries, is in talks to get fresh funding that would take the start-up's valuation past $1 billion. The quick-delivery firm is looking to raise $150 million in a series E round, which will take its valuation to $1.3 billion. The round will be led by StepStone Group, a limited partner (LP) of Zepto's existing investor, Nexus Venture Partners, said media reports.
The Bengaluru-based quick-commerce application (app) Zepto is making big strides. According to Sensor Tower data, it surpassed JioMart in November, securing the second position among grocery apps in terms of monthly usage. This shift, identified by BofA Global Research, closely monitoring key segments of the app business, has pushed JioMart to third place in the grocery space.
Several food and grocery delivery firms witnessed their highest ever single-day orders on New Year eve, December 31. Zomato achieved a record-breaking number of orders on its app. The company carried out nearly as many orders on December 31 as the total for the equivalent day in the period from 2015 to 2020.
'The focus on easier access and faster delivery is creating a new consumption pattern that allows consumers to satisfy their last-minute cravings and restock essentials at the click of a button.'
'Given that the market is now demanding disciplined growth, well-run companies should be able to demonstrate profitability with the cash on hand.'
As promised, Domino's 20-minute delivery started across 170 stores in Bengaluru on Tuesday. But, as the day progressed, some teething issues came to the fore. If delivery partners' accounts are anything to go by, these are unlikely to go away anytime soon.
Besides growing tech and digital enhancements, the firms are ramping up the hiring of more delivery partners and reinforcing existing Covid protocols.
The Malayalam film has has some exciting moments.
The film has an interesting narrative but lacks on the humour quotient.
Director Babu Janardhanan has made a bad film to say the least.
The film is a chain of interesting moments woven into the thread of a love story.
Mumbai Police will be enjoyed for its interesting story.
The film has some interesting insights into religious thought but peters out along the way.
Jawan of Vellimala has echoes of the Mullaperiyar dam controversy; here, unfortunately, the conspiracy theory feels a bit too stretched, says Paresh C Palicha.
The film looks half baked effort from director Siddique
The film had a proming premise but the director fails to built on it.
Dileep tries hard but his characterisation lacks substance or solidity.
While Mammootty's character looks jaded, Fahadh Faasil too cannot save the film.
Paresh C Palicha says Ente' has several holes in the plot that better remain unmentioned
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