Indian fast-delivery startup Zepto is in talks with PE firms so that existing shareholders can sell up to $250 million worth of equity as the company prepares for an initial public offering (IPO) later this year, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
According to the report, the private equity arms of Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd and Edelweiss Financial Services Ltd are in talks with Zepto to acquire shares in the secondary transaction.
Zepto will not raise new capital as part of the deal, but employees and some current investors will have the opportunity to cash out. The share sale is expected to value the Bengaluru-based startup at just over $5 billion.
The report comes as Zepto is seeking to increase its IPO size to $800 million to $1 billion from the initial target of $450 million. The company estimates its gross sales to reach $5.5 billion in the last quarter of FY26 and achieve positive EBITDA (excluding ESOPs).
Notably the company has also got the approval for relocating its base to India from Singapore ahead of the IPO expected this year.
Launched in 2021 by Aadit Palicha and Kaivalya Vohra, Zepto claims to sell over 25,000 products ranging from groceries to electronics, with a promise of delivery in just 10 minutes. The company is said to operate over 550 dark stores and process more than 700,000 daily orders.
It raised $350 million in its third funding round last year, led by Motilal Oswal’s private wealth division. It had raised more than $1.35 billion in back-to-back funding rounds in 2024 alone.
The latest infusion follows the $665-million funding raised by the company in June last year from investors including Glade Brook, Nexus, StepStone, Goodwater, Avenir, and Lightspeed. Prior to that, it raised $340 million in August, led by General Catalyst, at a $5-billion valuation.
