[Funding alert] Zepto raises $200M in Series D led by Y Combinator Community Fund to expand beyond metros

Quick commerce startup Zepto on Tuesday said it raised $200 million in a Series D round led by the Y Combinator Continuity Fund, which had also led its last funding round less than three months ago.

While US-based Kaiser Permanente Ventures joined as a new investor, existing investors, including  Nexus Venture Partners, Glade Brook Capital Partners, and Lachy Groom, (earlier with Stripe), increased their investment in Zepto.

In the next few months, Zepto wants to enter at least 10 new locations outside of the metros. "We are looking pretty good with the expansion plan, and we are opening a new dark store almost every 48 hours," Aadit Palicha, Co-founder and CEO, Zepto, told YourStory in an interaction.

He added, "We have been able to significantly reduce our last-mile delivery and operations burn, and this is what is giving investors confidence to back us."

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Zepto’s quick commerce bet

Founded in 2021 by Aadit and Kaivalya Vohra, Zepto started by delivering groceries and daily essentials in 10 minutes across Mumbai. Besides, it also caters to customers in Delhi, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad, among other cities.

The quick commerce platform has been piloting its cafe offering, where brands, including Blue Tokai and Sassy Spoon, sell their products and is delivered in 10 minutes.

Quick commerce is the latest addition to the ecommerce delivery space, emerged amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Players, including Swiggy Instamart, Blinkit (earlier Grofers), and Dunzo, are all in to take a piece of this pie, with Swiggy investing at least $700 million to expand in the quick commerce space.

As a new entrant, Zepto has been growing extensively, with its team size growing to over 1,000 employees from 400 members in December 2021.