Zepto Stalls IPO, Weekly Funding Rundown & More

Zepto has postponed its IPO debut, now promising to pursue a pre-IPO fundraising and balance sheet strengthening before attempting listing next year, between February and May 2027. Co-founder and CEO Aadit Palicha announced the new timeline during a town hall meeting with employees. The startup intends to update its DRHP (Direct Rights Offering Prospectus) with fresh financials and comply with SEBI guidelines for listing.

With SEBI clearance expected till November 2027, Zepto aims to raise a $105 million pre-IPO round from domestic and overseas investors to curb expenses, optimize dark stores, and align with investor valuation expectations. The decision to reschedule came after resistance from institutional investors who value Zepto at $2.5 billion to $3 billion, significantly lower than the $7 billion valuation in 2025. This reflects investors' concerns over Zepto's high cash burn at a premium valuation.

Despite doubling operating revenue to ₹22,624 crore in FY26, Zepto's net loss widened to ₹5,095 crore. Competition in the quick commerce sector demands heavy capital for dark store expansion and discounts, leading to Zepto's quarterly cash burn climbing to ₹700 crore. The startup must narrow losses and close the valuation gap for a convincing IPO story in 2027.

Indian startups raised $142 million last week, down 32% from $209 million the previous week, with 11 deals compared to 14 the prior week. Leading financings were led by Freehand ($75 million) and Arboreal ($24 million). AI sector attracted the most funding at $92.8 million across three deals. Early-stage startups saw healthy activity, with five seed-stage startups raising $11.8 million. Omnivore was the most active investor, backing two startups.