Zepto’s Aadit Palicha Refutes Deepinder Goyal’s Claim of Zepto Losing INR 2,500 Cr Quarterly

-While acknowledging Deepinder’s good intentions, Palicha emphasized that the statement may have been a misunderstanding or taken out of context.

-Palicha, in a LinkedIn post, called this statement inaccurate and clarified that Zepto is not losing the amount mentioned by Goyal.

-Palicha is clearly intent on dispelling any insinuations that the company’s burn rate is close to INR 10,000 Cr.

Zepto’s Aadit Palicha has responded to Deepinder Goyal’s recent remark in a publication, where he mentioned that Quick Commerce is burning INR 5,000 crore per quarter, with more than half attributed to Zepto. Palicha strongly refuted this claim, stating it is factually incorrect.. 

While acknowledging Deepinder’s good intentions, Palicha emphasized that the statement may have been a misunderstanding or taken out of context.

Palicha, in a LinkedIn post, called this statement inaccurate and clarified that Zepto is not losing the amount mentioned by Goyal. He further emphasized that the actual figures will be disclosed by the company when they file their financial statements publicly.

Palicha’s statement reads, “In an Economic Times article today, Deepinder Goyal - whom I deeply respect as an entrepreneur - made an inaccurate statement about Zepto. His words were that Quick Commerce was burning 5,000 Crores per quarter of which "substantially more than half of this is by Zepto" - implying that we are losing substantially more than 2,500 Crores per quarter. This statement is verifiably untrue and it will be clear when we publicly file our financial statements. However, I know Deepinder, and I know he has only good intentions; this quote could have been taken out of context or said as an honest mistake.”

Expressing his deepest respect for the Zomato founder, Palicha stated that Goyal started  Zomato when he was five years old. Further he said Goyal has been a role model for the startup ecosystem. 

“I have personally read all of his blogs and it's a privilege to learn from and compete with Zomato. Our genuine intention is to build the Indian startup ecosystem together in good-faith, and build a world-class product for the Indian consumer,” Palicha added.

In a recent interview with The Economic Times, Deepinder Goyal said, “"We think the total burn for all companies in quick commerce is around Rs 5,000 crore per quarter, conservatively speaking. Substantially more than half of this is by Zepto."

He added, “Compared to this, we’re burning very low numbers. Last quarter, Blinkit burned around Rs 35 crore per month on average.”

Zepto, however, reported losses of INR 1,248 Cr in FY24, meaning it would have to increase its burn rate by nearly 10x to match Goyal's claim. 

Both Zepto and Blinkit are engaged in fierce competition, with both companies incurring losses as they work to establish their businesses. While the exact figures for Zepto’s losses are yet to be revealed, Palicha is clearly intent on dispelling any insinuations that the company’s burn rate is close to INR 10,000 Cr.