Adit Palicha, the Indian-origin entrepreneur has rapidly risen to prominence as the co-founder of Zepto, one of India’s fastest-growing quick-commerce startups. Now valued at over ₹61,000 crore (US $7 billion) after a new funding round, Palicha has become one of the world’s youngest founders of a multi-billion-dollar company all after dropping out of Stanford University.
Who is Aadit Palicha?
Indian-origin entrepreneur Aadit Palicha, born in 2001, has become a huge success after co-founding Zepto, among India’s fastest-growing quick-commerce startups, which is now worth more than ₹61,000 crore (US $7 billion). Palicha’s path to becoming among the world’s youngest multi-billion-dollar company founders began when he quit Stanford University to chase his business dream.
The Birth of Zepto
Palicha was sparked to be an entrepreneur at a young age in Mumbai, which eventually led to his first failed business, the ride-sharing app GoPool, which he launched when he was 17. Palicha then went on to study Computer Science at Stanford. The COVID-19 pandemic caused a huge shift, however. Palicha, along with his best friend from childhood, Kaivalya Vohra, saw that India’s grocery delivery infrastructure was broken.
The pair dropped out of Stanford and originally started KiranaKart, but eventually tuned their idea into much more ambitious promise: 10-minute grocery delivery. This led to the launch of Zepto in April 2021. The name is a play on “zeptosecond,” representing the velocity they aspired to.
The Billion-Dollar Strategy
Zepto pulled off its seemingly impossible promise by using a network of local micro-warehouses, or “dark stores,” strategically located in India’s biggest cities. This speed and efficiency strategy quickly won over young urban consumers, making Zepto a standout hit in the Indian tech scene.
The vast growth of the company was recently confirmed by a funding round co-led by California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) and General Catalyst that invested $450 million (approximately ₹4,000 crore) in the company, taking its valuation to $7 billion. Zepto has grown its order volume 200% in the past 18 months, rivaling biggies such as Blinkit (backed by Zomato) and Swiggy Instamart.
The Road Ahead
Though its dizzying ascent from initial setbacks to a billion-dollar giant in less than three years was unprecedented, Palicha and Zepto now have their largest challenge on hand: sustainable profitability. With India’s intensely competitive delivery space, where competitors are also feverishly chasing efficiency, Zepto needs to convince shareholders that it can sustain its breathtaking growth and speed without burning too much money.
Aadit Palicha, with his fierce determination and a company that’s revolutionizing the way millions of Indians shop daily, is a reflection of a new, unabashed generation of Indian startups poised to drive the future of consumer technology.
