Zepto ad revenue jumps 151% as IPO filing reveals losses

Zepto’s latest filing captures the startup’s central contradiction: revenue is rising fast, but so are losses. Advertising revenue jumped more than 151% to 16.4 billion in fiscal 2026, yet the company still posted a net loss of 59.1 billion, up from 47.0 billion a year earlier, forcing a fresh test of whether quick commerce can become durable business or only expensive scale.

The top line is expanding sharply. Operating revenue increased 104% to 115.5 billion, while Zepto processed more than 640 million orders during the year. Annual transacting users climbed to almost 48 million, and the network reached 1,139 stores, underscoring how aggressively the company has built out capacity to serve India’s urban delivery demand.

That growth has come with a heavy bill. Zepto said it may continue to incur losses and may not be able to sustain its historical growth rates, a caution that lands directly in the middle of a market where Blinkit, owned by Zomato, and Swiggy’s Instamart are also fighting for share. Amazon and Walmart-backed Flipkart have stepped up their own efforts in the segment, making customer acquisition, delivery density and store expansion even more expensive.

The IPO is designed to fund that next phase. Zepto plans to raise up to 80.1 billion through a fresh issue of shares, alongside an offer for sale of up to 113.5 million shares by existing investors including Nexus Venture Partners, Contrary and Razor Ventures. The company may also raise up to 16.02 billion in a pre-IPO placement. The proceeds are earmarked for dark-store expansion, lease rentals, technology and cloud infrastructure, marketing, inorganic growth opportunities and general corporate purposes.

The filing also makes clear where the money is not going. Founders Aadit Palicha and Kaivalya Vohra are not selling shares, while Nexus Venture Partners is the largest seller in the offer-for-sale portion. Zepto, originally incorporated as Kiranakart Technologies Pvt Ltd in December 2020, was renamed Zepto Pvt Ltd in April 2025 and converted into a public limited company in December 2025, as it prepares to take its fast-growing but still unprofitable model to public investors. The valuation question remains unresolved, with estimates ranging from $7 billion to $8 billion and some market chatter putting it closer to $10 billion.