Quick commerce company Zepto is raising $100-150 million from Motilal Oswal, domestic families and other high net-worth individuals (HNIs), at a pre-investment valuation of $5 billion, according to sources close to the development.
Motilal Oswal’s private wealth arm is overseeing the fundraising mandate, and Motilal Oswal Asset Management Company has committed $40 million for this round, the sources added.
The talks for this round has been on from June and is expected to materialise soon. Zepto has received commitment for $100 million. The idea is to increase the domestic ownership ahead of the IPO, sources said.
Zepto had raised $665 million at a valuation of $3.6 billion in June and then scooped up another $340 million at a $5 billion valuation a few weeks later in August. In total, of the $1.6 billion that three-year old Zepto has raised so far, over $1 billion has come only in the last four months.
In June, the company raised about $665 million at a valuation of $3.6 billion. It had said that it is looking to go for an IPO in 9-12 months.
Zepto, which currently has a network of 370 dark stores, aims to grow the count to about 700 by March 2025, strengthening its presence in the top 20 cities. It had said in June that it has crossed the milestone of $1 billion in terms of annualised GMV.
According to a report released by Redseer, quick-commerce market size is projected to grow to about $6 billion GMV (gross merchandise value) by FY25 with expected growth rates of 75-85 per cent. This will be on the back of 5 million new Monthly Transacting Users (MTU), it added.
Swiggy Instamart, Blinkit and BigBasket are the other competitors for Zepto while Flipkart has entered the sector with Minutes.