As the quick commerce race heats up in India, with players expanding beyond FMCG and groceries to a wider bouquet of consumer goods, Tiger Global is reportedly conducting due diligence in Zepto-owned dark stores in Bengaluru, indicating a strong interest by the New York-based investor in the $5 Bn valued company.
“Tiger has been visiting Zepto’s dark stores for a more intricate understanding of operations,” ET reported, citing a source close to the matter.
The source also said that the US-based investment firm is seeing “how it (Zepto) differentiates in execution from others, as well as what’s playing out differently in India compared to global markets.”
Inc42 has reached out to Zepto cofounder Aadit Palicha for comments on the development. The story will be updated based on his response.
Another source added that for Tiger Global, “the idea is to engage (with Zepto) and have a relationship from now on for the next round of funding before an IPO—a typical practice for most late-stage startups.”
This development comes at a time when Zepto has initiated discussions with domestic and global merchant bankers to go public by August 2025, as per reports. On that note, the company eyes to raise around $450 Mn via a fresh issue of shares.
A month ago, the quick commerce major was also planning to raise an additional funding of $310 Mn, boosting its valuation to $5 Bn, marking a 40% spike from its previous fundraise.
Additionally, the company raised a funding of $665 Mn at a valuation of $3.6 Bn, to double its dark store count to 700 by March 2025 from 350 currently, in June.
Earlier this month, Zepto launched its services in Ahmedabad and plans to further branch out into other parts of the state, like Vadodara, Surat and Rajkot.
This move aligns with a broader industry trend, where several quick commerce companies are experimenting with new offerings ahead of the festive season.
Apart from Zepto, major players like Blinkit and Swiggy Instamart are expanding their dark store networks and adding bigger ticket items, such as electronics and fashion, to their product portfolios.
Meanwhile, a majority of ecommerce players are either looking to or have already made their foray into the quick commerce segment to ride on the latter’s market potential.
While Flipkart rolled out its line called Minutes last month, Tata-owned BigBasket has moved from being an online grocery delivery platform to a full-scale quick commerce platform.
Reliance Industries’ digital arm JioMart also rolled out a pilot for instant delivery of groceries and fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) products in some parts of Mumbai and Navi Mumbai.
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