Zepto IPO: everything we know about the filing, pause and timeline

Startup NewsIshaan VardhanNov 7, 202611 min read

Zepto has not listed yet. As of 6 November 2026, the quick-commerce company holds SEBI’s approval and an updated draft prospectus for a fresh issue of up to ₹8,010 crore, but it paused the IPO at the end of July 2026, and its CEO told staff it now aims to list within two to three quarters. No price band or dates have been announced.

Below: the filings, the issue size, the reported pause, the draft prospectus numbers, the competition and what to watch. We mark what comes from the filing or the company and what is reported from unnamed sources. One crore is 10 million rupees.

This is not investment advice: read the final prospectus and consult a SEBI-registered adviser before investing.

Key takeaways

• Zepto pre-filed confidential IPO papers with SEBI in December 2025, received SEBI’s observations in May 2026 and filed its first updated draft (UDRHP-I) on 8 June 2026.
• The draft proposes a fresh issue of up to ₹8,010 crore plus an offer for sale (OFS) of up to about 11.35 crore shares by investors; the founders are not selling.
• Zepto paused the listing in late July 2026 and closed a pre-IPO placement; reports put it at about ₹1,000 crore at a valuation near $4.5 billion, against $7 billion in October 2025.
• In FY26 (year to March 2026), revenue from operations more than doubled to ₹22,623.6 crore while the net loss widened 26% to ₹5,905.2 crore, according to the filing as reported by Inc42 and Business Today.
• Zepto says it will list within the window SEBI allows for its approved draft; reports put that deadline at November 2027.

Zepto IPO status as of November 2026

The Zepto IPO is approved but on hold: SEBI has cleared the draft, and the company says it will list within the approval window, but it has set no date.

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Table: Zepto IPO facts by status, compiled by 100xFounder from the sources listed below, as of 6 November 2026.

Zepto IPO timeline: from confidential filing to pause

Zepto’s IPO process began with a confidential filing in December 2025 and reached SEBI approval in May 2026, before the company paused it at the end of July 2026.

• October 2025: Zepto raised $450 million led by CalPERS at a $7 billion valuation, its last private round before the filings, according to Business Today and Forbes India.
• December 2025: Zepto pre-filed a draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with SEBI under the confidential route. Forbes India dates the filing to 27 December; Business Today reported it on 28 December with a planned size of about ₹11,000 crore.
• May 2026: SEBI issued its observations on the draft. Forbes India says the issue size at that point was ₹11,000–12,000 crore, including the fresh issue and the OFS.
• 8 June 2026: Zepto filed its first updated draft (UDRHP-I), the first public version.
• 30 July 2026: Business Standard and Inc42 reported that Zepto was pausing the IPO to raise a pre-IPO round.
• 1 August 2026: Zepto said it had agreed a pre-IPO private placement with major shareholders and would focus on execution.
• November 2027: the reported deadline to list without refiling.

Zepto IPO size: fresh issue, OFS and use of proceeds

The Zepto IPO, as filed on 8 June 2026, combines a fresh issue of up to ₹8,010 crore with an offer for sale of up to 113,466,566 shares by existing investors. The final OFS value depends on the price, so no total issue size is fixed.

According to Business Today, the selling shareholders are Nexus Venture Partners’ two holding entities, Razor Ventures, Contrary, and two Kaiser Permanente entities. Inc42 reported that Nexus alone would sell up to 8.78 crore shares. Founders Aadit Palicha and Kaivalya Vohra are not selling.

Inc42’s breakdown of the fresh issue lists these planned uses:

• ₹1,629 crore to set up 1,904 new dark stores (small warehouses that serve nearby orders) through FY30
• ₹1,734.9 crore for dark-store lease payments
• ₹1,324.8 crore for technology and cloud infrastructure over three years
• ₹520 crore for marketing through the Zepto Marketplace subsidiary
• The rest for unidentified acquisitions and general corporate purposes

The draft also allows a pre-IPO placement of up to ₹1,602 crore, TechCrunch reported. Under SEBI rules, a pre-IPO placement can be up to 20% of the proposed fresh issue, and whatever is raised is deducted from the fresh issue, Inc42 noted. A September 2026 Forbes India piece describes Zepto as seeking ₹8,100 crore from the markets, down from the ₹11,000–12,000 crore first planned.

Why Zepto paused its IPO

Zepto paused its IPO because institutional investors would not pay close to its last private valuation, according to multiple reports. Zepto itself has said only that it is focusing on execution and will list within the time SEBI allows.

The valuation gap, as reported:

• $7 billion: Zepto’s valuation after its $450 million round in October 2025.
• About $4.5 billion: the valuation of the pre-IPO round, according to Business Standard on 30 July 2026, citing sources.
• About $2.5–3 billion: what some institutional investors were willing to pay, according to Inc42 and Forbes India, citing sources.

The reported reasons are heavy cash burn, a weak market for loss-making listings and tougher competition, per Inc42. Forbes India adds that Zepto added only 110 net stores in FY26 against 692 in FY25, and that investors prefer Eternal and Swiggy because they also run food delivery, while Zepto is a pure quick-commerce company.

Business Standard reported that Palicha described the delay as a pause of one to two quarters. Inc42, citing Moneycontrol, reported on 1 August that he told employees Zepto aims to list in the next two to three quarters, which Inc42 reads as February to May 2027. Zepto will update its existing draft with new financials instead of refiling, according to the company’s statement.

The unlisted market reacted quickly. Outlook Business reported on 3 August that Zepto’s unlisted shares fell about 23% in five sessions, from about ₹35 to about ₹27. Unlisted prices are thin quotes, not an official valuation.

Zepto’s financials from the draft prospectus

Zepto’s revenue from operations more than doubled to ₹22,623.6 crore in FY26 while its net loss widened 26% to ₹5,905.2 crore, according to the UDRHP-I as reported by Inc42 and Business Today. The filing also says Zepto has had losses and negative operating cash flow every year since it started.

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Table: Zepto financials from the UDRHP-I as reported by Forbes India (3 August 2026); revenue and loss match Inc42 and Business Today (8–9 June 2026).

The latest quarter in the filing shows the loss narrowing. In the March 2026 quarter, revenue rose 75.26% to ₹7,497.64 crore and the net loss narrowed to ₹1,538.67 crore from ₹1,831.91 crore, Business Today reported. Zepto handled 210 million orders that quarter, about 2.33 million a day, from 1,139 dark stores, and had 4.79 crore annual transacting users. It held ₹5,681 crore in cash and no debt on 31 March 2026, according to Forbes India.

TechCrunch reported more than 640 million orders in FY26; its rupee revenue figure is lower than the one Inc42, Business Today and Forbes India agree on, which we use.

Risks the filing flags

The draft discloses that the Enforcement Directorate summoned Palicha and Vohra on 8 April 2026 under India’s foreign-exchange law (FEMA), Business Today reported. Zepto says it has heard nothing further but cannot rule out future proceedings. Separately, in October 2026 the food regulator FSSAI sent Zepto a show-cause notice after a customer complaint about expired gram flour, Inc42 reported on 19 October.

Zepto vs Blinkit, Instamart and Flipkart Minutes

Zepto is the only one of India’s big three quick-commerce players that is not yet listed: Blinkit belongs to Eternal and Instamart to Swiggy, both public companies. Their September-quarter results set the bar Zepto will be measured against.

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Table: quick-commerce comparison from Kotak Neo (Eternal Q2 FY27, 21 October 2026), Inc42 (Swiggy Q2 FY27, 22 October 2026), Forbes India (3 August 2026), Inc42 (Zepto UDRHP, 8 June 2026) and Franchise India (20 October 2026). Metrics differ by company.

Blinkit is the scale leader. Eternal reported Blinkit’s adjusted EBITDA at ₹184 crore in the September quarter, up from ₹102 crore in June, and plans more than 3,500 stores by March 2027, Kotak Neo reported.

Instamart is still losing more each quarter. Its adjusted EBITDA loss rose to ₹895 crore from ₹778 crore in the June quarter, Inc42 reported on 22 October. Forbes India says Instamart moved to an inventory-led model in August 2026.

Flipkart Minutes and Amazon Now are the deep-pocketed newcomers; Forbes India reports Amazon plans to take Amazon Now to more than 300 cities.

On price, Forbes India (14 September 2026), citing Jefferies, puts Zepto’s average order value at around ₹360, against roughly ₹500–525 at Blinkit and Instamart. Zepto reached 100 cities with its Ayodhya launch on 19 October 2026, Franchise India reported. For other Indian unicorns heading to market, see our Indian unicorns list.

What to watch next

The next concrete step in the Zepto IPO is an updated filing with fresh financials, which Zepto said it will submit in the coming quarters. These are the signals to track:

• The addendum. New numbers for the quarters after March 2026 will show whether losses keep narrowing, which Palicha reportedly tied the listing to.
• The pre-IPO round’s final terms. Zepto has not disclosed the size or valuation; any amount raised comes off the ₹8,010 crore fresh issue.
• The red herring prospectus and price band. These set the valuation; until then, every valuation figure is a report.
• Rivals’ next results. Blinkit is already profitable on adjusted EBITDA, while Instamart’s loss is still widening.
• Regulatory matters. The ED summons and the FSSAI notice are the open items on record.
• The November 2027 deadline to list without refiling.

Track new rounds and filings on our funding tracker and news page.

Bottom line

Zepto’s IPO is approved, sized and paused. The filing shows a company that doubled revenue in FY26 and narrowed its quarterly loss by March 2026, but still burned cash, while institutions reportedly priced it well below its last $7 billion round. The next filing, not the rumours, will decide when it lists and at what price.

FAQ

When is the Zepto IPO coming?

No date is set. Zepto paused its IPO in late July 2026, and CEO Aadit Palicha reportedly told employees the company aims to list within two to three quarters, which Inc42 reads as February to May 2027. Zepto’s own statement says it will list within the window SEBI allows for its approved draft, reportedly until November 2027. No price band has been announced.

How big is the Zepto IPO?

Zepto’s updated draft prospectus, filed on 8 June 2026, proposes a fresh issue of up to ₹8,010 crore and an offer for sale of up to 113,466,566 shares by investors such as Nexus Venture Partners. The total depends on the final price. Any pre-IPO placement is deducted from the fresh issue, so the new-money portion may shrink.

What is Zepto’s valuation in 2026?

There is no official 2026 valuation. Zepto was valued at $7 billion after its October 2025 round. Business Standard reported on 30 July 2026, citing sources, that the pre-IPO round valued it at about $4.5 billion, while Inc42 and Forbes India reported institutions offering about $2.5–3 billion.

Is Zepto profitable?

No. Zepto’s draft prospectus shows a net loss of ₹5,905.2 crore in FY26, up 26% from ₹4,699.7 crore in FY25, on revenue of ₹22,623.6 crore. The loss narrowed in the March 2026 quarter to ₹1,538.67 crore from ₹1,831.91 crore a year earlier. The filing says Zepto has had losses since inception.

Why did Zepto delay its IPO?

Reports say institutional investors valued Zepto well below its $7 billion private valuation, citing cash burn, a tough market for loss-making companies and competition from Blinkit, Instamart, Flipkart Minutes and Amazon Now. Zepto says it is focusing on execution and will update its filing with new financials.

Sources

1. Inc42, “Zepto Files UDRHP, Plans ₹8,010 Cr Fresh Issue”, 8 June 2026
2. Business Today, “Zepto files UDRHP for IPO: ED summons to promoters disclosed; key details you should know”, 9 June 2026
3. TechCrunch, “Zepto’s IPO filing reveals fast growth, bigger losses, and a valuation question nobody’s answered yet”, 8 June 2026
4. Business Today, “Rs 11,000 crore IPO plan: Zepto files confidential papers with Sebi”, 28 December 2025
5. Business Standard, “Zepto pauses IPO, to raise Rs 1K cr in pre-IPO round at $4.5 bn valuation”, 30 July 2026
6. Inc42, “Zepto Pauses IPO Amid Valuation Concerns, To Raise ₹1,000 Cr Pre-IPO Round”, 30 July 2026
7. Inc42, “Zepto To Now Re-Attempt IPO By May 2027: Report”, 1 August 2026
8. Storyboard18, “Zepto eyes listing in 2 to 3 quarters; announces pre-IPO equity placement”, 2 August 2026
9. Forbes India, “Why Zepto’s IPO ambitions hit a valuation reality check”, 3 August 2026
10. Outlook Business, “Zepto’s IPO delay triggers 23% crash in unlisted shares”, 3 August 2026
11. Forbes India, “Zepto’s IPO rests on quick commerce’s ability to beat modern retail”, 14 September 2026
12. Inc42, “FSSAI Crackdown Continues With Fresh Show-Cause Notices Issued To Zepto, Others”, 19 October 2026
13. Franchise India, “Zepto Expands to 100 Cities with Launch in Ayodhya”, 20 October 2026
14. Kotak Neo, “Eternal Q2 Results FY27: Profit Jumps 92% To ₹125 Crore, Revenue Rises 78%; Blinkit Adds 308 Stores”, 21 October 2026
15. Inc42, “Swiggy Q2: Loss Narrows 16% YoY To ₹922 Cr, Revenue Jumps 36%”, 22 October 2026

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