Amid a dry spell for startup IPOs in India, quick commerce major Zepto filed its updated draft red herring prospectus (UDRHP) with the markets regulator SEBI yesterday. 

While the 690-page-long IPO papers position the company as the fastest growing quick commerce player in India, with improvement in its bottom line while sustained revenue jumps over the past few fiscals, they also shed light on what’s happening behind the scenes.

For one, Zepto’s cofounders, Aadit Palicha and Kaivalya Vohra, were summoned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) just last month pertaining to information surrounding the company’s foreign investments, owned immovable properties, shareholding pattern, loans, guarantees, income tax records, bank accounts and other corporate records. 

The cofounders submitted the relevant information and documents sought under the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (FEMA), and said they have not received any further communication from the authorities since then.

Zepto is perhaps one of the most funded Indian startups to have not gone public till now. It has raised over $2.4 Bn from marquee investors like Glade Brook Capital, General Catalyst, StepStone Group, among others.

However, in the run up to the IPO, the company’s cap table saw some significant shifts last year.

The draft IPO papers reveal that its early foreign backers sold Zepto’s shares worth more than ₹577 Cr to financial services giant Motilal Oswal in a secondary transaction in August 2025. 

As previously reported, Motilal Oswal Financial Services acquired 7.6 Cr CCPS of the startup in an all-cash deal. 

It has now come to light that US-based Kaiser Permanente and Dubai-based Razor Capital also offloaded shares last year. While the former sold 3.7 Cr shares, the latter sold nearly 61 Lakh shares. Nexus Venture Partners also sold 6.7 Cr shares to MOFSL at a price of ₹53.26 each. 

Notably, Zepto had been working to pare down its foreign shareholding. The quick commerce platform was said to be keen on boosting its domestic shareholding to over 50% to better comply with FDI regulations in the ecommerce sector and to ease investor concerns over the same. 

“As a foreign owned and controlled company, we are subject to various requirements under the Consolidated FDI Policy and other Indian foreign investment laws including the restriction on undertaking businesses which are not permitted to receive FDI. Such requirements include restrictions on our Company and Subsidiaries on investing in companies that are FDI restricted or at all and pricing guidelines applicable to any investment by us in shares of another Indian company,” Zepto noted in its DRHP. 

With the company now well on its way to the D-Street, its promoter and promoter group hold a significant stake in the company. 

Zepto’s founders and promoter group entities hold a combined stake of 19.56% in the company, with Palicha and Vohra holding around 1% stake. 

The largest shareholder in Zepto is Lazarus Trust, acting through its trustee and cofounder Aadit’s father Kavit Palicha, with a 9.03% stake in the company. The Vohra Trust, acting through Kaivalya’s father Jaideep Vohra, holds a 7.48% equity stake. 

The promoters are not partaking in the offer for sale (OFS) part of the IPO, thereby retaining their stake till the lock-in expiry post listing.   

Zepto’s IPO proposal consists of a fresh issue of shares worth ₹8,010 Cr as well as an OFS component comprising up to 11.35 Cr equity shares. 

While Nexus Venture Partners plans to offload 8.78 Cr shares held by its two holding entities (Nexus Ventures VI Holdings and Nexus Ventures VII Holdings), Razor Capital is looking to sell 93.64 Lakh shares and US-based venture capital firm Contrary aims to cash out 78.01 Lakh shares.

Barring the promoter group, early-stage focused VC firm Nexus Venture Partners, which backed Zepto back in 2021, is the biggest external shareholder. It holds 165.34 Cr shares or 13.12% stake in the company across its two holding entities.

Glade Brook Capital (7.73% stake), StepStone Group (7.34% stake) and Y Combinator (6.01%) are the other major investors in the company. 

Founded in 2021 by Palicha and Vohra, Zepto competes with Eternal’s Blinkit, Swiggy’s Instamart, Amazon Now, Flipkart Minutes, BigBasket, and JioMart in the quick-commerce market, which is projected to grow to nearly $40 Bn by 2030.

On the financial front, the company’s net loss widened 26% to ₹5,905.2 Cr in FY26 from ₹4,699.7 Cr in the previous fiscal year. Operating revenue more than doubled to ₹22,623.6 Cr during the year under review from ₹11,109.9 Cr in FY25. 

With that, here’s a detailed look at Zepto’s board and key management.

Decoding Zepto’s Leadership Team

Board of Directors

Aadit Palicha

Palicha is the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Zepto. The 23-year-old cofounder is responsible for leading its overall strategy, vision, and operations. In FY26, he was paid a gross remuneration of ₹2.7 Cr. 

Kaivalya Vohra

Vohra is a Whole-Time Director and cofounded Zepto with Palicha back in 2021. As Zepto’s President – Technology and Product, he leads the company’s technology and product strategy. He earned a gross remuneration of ₹2.6 Cr in FY26.

Ramesh Bafna

Bafna has been a Whole-Time Director and the CFO of the company since May 2023, overseeing financial strategy, risk management and compliance. Over a career spanning over two decades, Bafna has worked for companies like Myntra, Flipkart and Wipro. His gross remuneration in FY26 amounted to over ₹3.8 Cr. 

Paul Hudson

Hudson is the chairman and non-executive nominee director of Zepto’s board since December 2025. He represents Glade Brook Capital on the company’s cap table. 

Akhil Gupta

Gupta is one of Zepto’s independent directors, joining the board in April 2025. He is the president emeritus of the Telecom Sector Skill Council and former Chairman of DIPA. Gupta also holds directorships at companies like Snapdeal, 360 ONE WAM, and Lodha Developers.

Anulakshmi Hariharan

Hariharan is also an Independent Director on Zepto’s board since December 2025. She was earlier a partner at US-based investment firm Andreessen Horowitz as well as managing director and partner at Y Combinator. 

Key Managerial Personnel

Vinay Dhanani

Dhanani, who has over 17 years of experience in the supply chain sector, has been with Zepto since July 2021. As president – supply chain and category, he is responsible for end-to-end supply chain, operations, and expansion and execution of business and category strategies. In FY26, Dhanani was paid a gross compensation of ₹3.1 Cr.

Nikhil Mittal

Mittal has served as Zepto’s CTO since January 2024, leading its technology and engineering strategy. With over nine years of experience in the engineering and technology sector, he was previously associated with Niksar Technologies and Goldman Sachs Services. In FY26, Mittal’s gross remuneration amounted to ₹2.1 Cr.

Divesh Sawhney

Sawhney has been Zepto’s chief growth officer since January 2024, responsible for driving business expansion and growth. He previously worked at companies like Piramal Enterprises, Tata UniStore, and Amazon Seller Services. In FY26, Sawhney received a gross compensation of ₹3.1 Cr.

Ankit Agarwal

As Zepto’s CPO since September 2023, Agarwal oversees product management, product analytics, product operations, and product design. He has previously worked at companies like Delhivery, Flipkart, and Infra.Market. In FY26, his gross remuneration amounted to ₹2.2 Cr. 

Devendra Meel

Meel, who joined Zepto in July 2023, was named CBO in May 2024 to drive overall business strategy, category growth, and platform revenue generation. With over 13 years of experience in business and strategy, he was previously associated with Reliance Jio Infocomm, Amplus Management Services, and Zomato. In FY26, he received a gross remuneration of ₹2.75 Cr.

Vikas Sharma

Sharma has been Zepto’s COO since September 2021, and leads daily operations and supply chain management. He boasts over 13 years of experience in the supply chain sector with stints at companies like Pepperfry, Super-Max Personal Care, and Flipkart. In FY26, Zepto paid Sharma a gross remuneration of ₹1.9 Cr.

Chandan Mendiratta

Mendiratta, who comes with over 20 years of experience in the marketing and growth sector, has been the company’s chief brand officer since January 2024. He has previously worked at companies like Classplus and Zomato, and was paid ₹1.4 Cr in gross remuneration in FY26. 

Sneha Arora

Arora has been the company’s CHRO since October 2025. With over 15 years of experience in the human resources sector, she was previously associated with Flipkart, Myntra, Texas Instruments (India), and SAP Labs India. In FY26, Arora received a gross remuneration of ₹94.3 Lakh.

Samad Shariff

Shariff has been Zepto’s Company Secretary and Compliance Officer since December 2024. He has been previously associated with Unacademy and Zovi during his 13-year-long career. In FY26, Shariff received a gross remuneration of ₹65.6 Lakh.

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