Zepto gets SEBI’s in-principle nod for Rs 11,000 crore IPO

Quick commerce startup Zepto has received in-principle approval from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for its upcoming initial public offering, according to sources aware of the matter.

The Arc was the first to report the development on Monday.

The company had made a confidential filing in December 2025 and taken board approval to raise Rs 11,000 crore ($1.3 billion) through the IPO.

The company is now expected to refile its prospectus with updated FY26 numbers in the first week of May. Zepto also needs to submit a certificate confirming it has completed the testing-the-waters (TTW) process, which is expected to wrap up in the next 2–3 weeks.

The final approval is expected once the company files its updated prospectus. TTW is a pre-marketing process that allows emerging growth companies to communicate with qualified institutional buyers and accredited institutional investors before filing a registration statement, helping gauge investor interest and refine valuation without public disclosure.

Founded in 2020 as local grocery aggregator Kiranakart, Zepto pivoted to its current quick commerce model and competes with market leader Blinkit (owned by Eternal) and Swiggy’s Instamart. Amazon, Flipkart, and Reliance JioMart are also expanding in the segment.

Potential listing timeline

If the timeline holds, Zepto could list by the end of June — going public in less than six years, faster than unicorns like Mamaearth and Ola Electric, which took 7–8 years.

The listing also comes at a difficult time. Indian stock market indices have corrected over the past month amid West Asia-linked volatility. PhonePe last month put its IPO on hold and cut its valuation target to $10 billion from $15 billion, citing global market uncertainties.

Zepto’s IPO is focused on raising primary capital, unlike PhonePe’s offer-for-sale structure. The company had about $600–700 million in cash as of March 2026, while Blinkit and Swiggy were sitting on $1.9 billion and $1.7 billion respectively as of December 2025.

Share prices of both Swiggy and Eternal have slipped 30–35% over the past six months, putting additional pressure on valuation multiples in the segment.

Analysts estimate Zepto may have to take a significant cut from its last private valuation of $7 billion.