Speaking at the NDTV World Summit 2024 - The India Century, Aadit Palicha, Co-Founder of Zepto, shared how the company reached a $5 billion valuation just months after inception. Speaking about the meteoric rise of Zepto, Palicha talked about the journey that began from a bold decision to leave college and passion to solve real-world problems during the pandemic.

Palicha stated that he and Co-Founder Kaivalya Vohra have always been coding enthusiasts making small products for fun. During the lockdown due to the COVID-19 at Mumbai, which made them spend there, they were supposed to attend college in California after what they realized that online education offered little value. So they decided to take a year to experiment.

We were just sitting in Andheri and thought, 'Let's take a year and build something interesting", shared Palicha, saying they identified a gap in the market as grocery delivery services were unreliable at the time. It was also here that they first began by trying to communicate with the customer on WhatsApp, which formed the base for the first version of Zepto.

Within a year, this simple WhatsApp group grew rapidly and helped them to create a successful platform. Palicha revealed how Vohra's mother initially believed he had 'brainwashed' her son, but the business picked up; in its first stages, it generated millions in revenue.

Attributing to a ten-minute delivery model, Palicha said Zepto is customer-centric. "Most groceries are purchased hyper-locally, people order a lot within a day. We soon realized that ten-minute delivery was not only possible but also in high demand".

Zepto launched in Bandra. "The love for customers was high. People were excited," Palicha added to describe the customer retention and excitement about their hyper-fast delivery service.

He also addressed the critical aspect that gig workers-which Zepto identifies as delivery partners-play in the company's operations. "In the past 36 months, we have hired 50,000 delivery partners, providing them with steady income," he shared, adding that the company offers various benefits, including doctor consultations, vehicle repair, and insurance.

"We are always looking for ways to better improve the work experience for our delivery partners and ensure their well-being," said Palicha, adding that Zepto's core philosophy is basically about unlocking productivity.

Talking about technologies used, Palicha spoke of Zepto's use of AI and data systems to enhance customer experience. "We focus on search history to offer personalized products, and AI helps us respond faster to customer queries, he explained, and laying emphasis on innovation.

Looking forward, Palicha said that Zepto will continue to enter new cities and aims to revolutionize the grocery delivery space in India.