In a rare public rebuttal, Zepto‘s co-founder and CEO Aadit Palicha has addressed an alleged smear campaign launched by the Chief Financial Officer of a rival company, accusing them of making baseless allegations, spreading false numbers, and paying social media bots to malign Zepto’s image.
The CEO criticized the competitor’s approach, calling it “below the stature expected of a high-quality company” and suggesting that such moves stem from insecurity over Zepto’s rapidly improving financial performance.
In a detailed statement meant to preempt misinformation, Zepto laid out its recent financial milestones:
Massive Growth in GOV: Zepto has seen its Gross Order Value (GOV) surge from ₹750 crore/month in May 2024 to ₹2,400 crore/month in May 2025. This includes fruits, vegetables at selling price, and ad revenue.
EBITDA Surge: From January to May 2025, the company improved its EBITDA by 20 absolute percentage points (2,000 basis points), entering single-digit negative territory. Concurrently, cash burn was reduced by 65%.
Sustained Growth During Efficiency Drive: Despite its EBITDA improvement, Zepto maintained a 20% GOV growth in the same period, reflecting 4–5% month-on-month gains.
Dark Store Profitability: The company projects most of its dark stores to be fully EBITDA positive (including backend supply chain costs and fixed/variable costs) by next quarter.
Strong Cash Reserves: As of this quarter, Zepto has a net cash reserve of ₹7,445 crore, fully reconciled with bank statements — giving the startup multiple years of runway.
Robust Governance: Zepto highlighted its strong finance, audit, and compliance systems, with Big 4 audits, vendor reconciliations, and no material deviations noted in any financial due diligence.
Expansion, Not Downsizing: Refuting any rumors of downsizing, the CEO confirmed that store expansion is underway, not rationalisation.
“Healthy competition is fine, but lies are not. These calls and tactics are only making our strengths more evident to the investor community,” the CEO remarked.
This statement comes as Zepto is under increased scrutiny from both competitors and the media amid its fast-paced rise in the quick commerce space. By putting forth transparent financial data and growth figures, the company appears to be signaling confidence in both its operations and future trajectory.
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