Zepto to list in 2-3 quarters, refiling not needed: Co-founder Aadit Palicha tells employees in townhall

Quick commerce startup Zepto is aiming to list on the stock exchanges in the next 2-3 quarters once its financial metrics improve and valuation terms turn more favourable, CEO and co-founder Aadit Palicha told employees on July 31, Moneycontrol has learnt.

The company had originally planned to list in August and now, the updated timelines, would mean Zepto will aim to list between February 2027 and May 2027.

In the company-wide townhall Palicha also assured employees that the IPO engagements continue to happen and that the company has time until November 2027 to list on the stock exchanges and that it will not have to refile its draft IPO papers. Zepto will, instead, have to just file an updated set of financials, as an addendum to the existing documents, with capital markets regulator SEBI to proceed with its planned public market listing.

Palicha’s comments come shortly after Moneycontrol exclusively reported on July 30 that Zepto has paused work on its IPO and opted to raise over Rs 1,000 crore (over $100 million) in a pre-IPO placement from existing backers such Glade Brook, General Catalyst, Goodwater Capital and Nexus Venture Partners.

Palicha confirmed the pre-IPO placement raise of around $100 million to employees on July 31.

The Moneycontrol report had also added that Zepto opted to raise money from existing backers instead of proceeding with the IPO after domestic mutual funds offered the company a valuation of just $2.5-3 billion as against Zepto’s estimates of $4-5 billion.

Zepto did not immediately respond to Moneycontrol’s queries.

Incoming investors, especially the top domestic mutual such as SBI MF, ICICI Prudential, Kotak, HDFC and others, had flagged concerns around the company's cash burn and said it would be unsustainable for the company to continue scale at this rate.

Zepto was burning over Rs 900 crore each quarter and was left with just three quarters of cash which was a cause of worry among incoming investors.

Zepto is however hopeful it will return to the public markets in the coming months with a better profitability profile and be able to command a higher valuation, per sources. The comany's quarterly cash burn is now around Rs 700 crore which will likely mean it has cash reserves for two additional quarters.