In a move that signals a coming of age for India's high-velocity delivery sector, Zepto officially filed its Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) with SEBI on December 26, 2025. The Bengaluru-based quick commerce pioneer is aiming for a massive $1.3 billion (approx. ₹11,000–12,000 crore) Initial Public Offering, opting for the "confidential filing" route to maintain strategic privacy during the initial regulatory review. Founded just four years ago by Stanford dropouts Aadit Palicha and Kaivalya Vohra, Zepto is poised to become the youngest venture-capital-backed company ever to list on the Indian bourses, with a target debut in the July–September 2026 quarter.

The IPO structure includes a fresh issue of shares worth roughly ₹11,000 crore, alongside an Offer for Sale (OFS) by early investors looking to partially exit. This capital "war chest" is intended to fuel Zepto's aggressive expansion, as it seeks to scale its network to over 1,300 dark stores and deepen its presence in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities. The filing comes just months after a successful $450 million funding round in October, which pegged the unicorn's valuation at a staggering $7 billion. To steer this landmark transition, the company has appointed a heavyweight banking syndicate led by Morgan Stanley, alongside Axis Capital, Goldman Sachs, and HSBC.

However, Zepto’s march to Dalal Street arrives under a cloud of skepticism regarding the sector’s long-term viability. Industry veterans, most notably Blinkit CEO Albinder Dhindsa, have recently warned of a "quick commerce bubble," suggesting that the current model—characterized by relentless fundraising and steep discounts—is nearing a breaking point. Analysts point to the "capital war" currently being waged between Zepto, Zomato-owned Blinkit, and Swiggy Instamart, where billions of dollars are being burned to capture market share in an industry where unit economics remain notoriously thin.

Zepto’s own financial disclosures highlight this tension between explosive growth and mounting losses. For the financial year ending March 2025 (FY25), the company reported a massive 129% surge in revenue to ₹9,669 crore. Yet, during the same period, its net losses nearly tripled to ₹3,367 crore, up from ₹1,214 crore the previous year. This widening gap suggests that while consumer demand for 10-minute deliveries is real, the cost of acquiring and serving those customers is rising even faster, leading some critics to question if the current $7 billion valuation is sustainable without a clear path to profitability.

The "confidential filing" route chosen by Zepto—also utilized by peers like Swiggy and Meesho—is a tactical move designed to provide flexibility. It allows the company to engage in back-and-forth dialogue with the regulator without making its sensitive financial data public until closer to the actual launch. This is particularly crucial in a volatile market where "bubble" talk can lead to sharp corrections. If market sentiment sours, Zepto can theoretically adjust its issue size or timing without the public "stigma" of a traditional withdrawn filing.

Despite the warnings, the 10-minute delivery model is fundamentally reshaping Indian retail. Proponents of the sector, including several mutual fund managers, argue that the "convenience premium" in India's dense urban clusters is a structural shift, not a temporary fad. They contend that as these platforms expand into high-margin categories like electronics, fashion, and beauty, the average order value (AOV) will rise, eventually stabilizing the burn rate. For Zepto, the IPO is not just a fundraising exercise but a race to secure "permanent capital" before the venture capital spigot potentially tightens.

As 2026 approaches, the Zepto IPO will serve as a litmus test for the entire "new-age" tech ecosystem in India. If successful, it will validate the high-burn, high-growth strategy of the Gen-Z founders and provide a blueprint for other rapid-growth startups. However, if the "bubble" begins to deflate before the listing, Zepto may find itself at the center of a swift market correction. For now, all eyes are on the SEBI headquarters as the regulator begins its private review of the documents that could crown India’s next public market heavyweight.