The food delivery segment in India has witnessed an unprecedented surge. Late-night cravings, urgent home delivery, etc., have now become the norm. Despite being a huge potential market in India at present, only 2-3 brands dominate this industry, and Zomato is one of them.
Zomato is an Indian restaurant aggregator that delivers food in almost every Indian city. Zomato provides a complete reference for a restaurant. Right from menus to reviews, it covers all the aspects centered around a restaurant. Now, the question in your mind would be, who found this brilliant startup to curb all your midnight cravings? It was founded by Deepinder Goyal and Pankaj Chaddah.
Zomato is gradually building on its global presence. They have acquired about 15 startups in different countries, including foreign competitors, to increase their foothold in other countries. In 2014, Zomato acquired Gastronauci, Poland’s restaurant search service, and Cibando, an Italian restaurant finder. They made their biggest acquisition in 2022 by acquiring India-based Blinkit (formerly Grofers) for an estimated $560 million in an all-stock deal.
Initially named Foodiebay when it began in 2008, the venture was later renamed Zomato in 2010.
Zomato Limited, the parent company of Zomato, has officially changed its name to Eternal Limited as of March 20, 2025, following approvals from both shareholders and the Ministry of Corporate Affairs. Despite the name change at the corporate level, the Zomato brand and app will continue to operate as usual, with no changes to its identity or services.
Deepinder Goyal Biography
| Name | Deepinder Goyal |
|---|---|
| Born | 26th January, 1983 |
| Birthplace | Punjab, India |
| Education | Indian Institute Of Technology, Delhi |
| Wife | Grecia Munoz |
| Position | Co-founder and CEO of Zomato, Director of Upslope |
| Net worth | $1.7 billion, (October 2024) |
Let us look at Deepinder Goyal story, education, personal life, controversies, life story, and history of someone whose current net worth is $1 billion.
Deepinder Goyal – Personal Life
Deepinder Goyal – Education
Deepinder Goyal – The Idea of Zomato
Deepinder Goyal – Zomato’s Growth
Deepinder Goyal – Struggle
Deepinder Goyal – Raising funds for Zomato
Deepinder Goyal – The Dream Flight
Deepinder Goyal – Continue
Deepinder Goyal – Success Story: An Inspiration
Deepinder Goyal – Shark Tank India
Deepinder Goyal – Controversies
Deepinder Goyal – Investments
Deepinder Goyal – Awards and Achievements
Deepinder Goyal – Personal Life
Deepinder Goyal was born into a humble family in Muktsar, Punjab, on 26 January 1983. Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal recently married Mexican model-turned-entrepreneur Grecia Munoz. Reports indicate that the couple tied the knot a few months ago. This is Deepinder Goyal’s second marriage; he was previously married to his IIT-Delhi batchmate, Kanchan Joshi.
Deepinder Goyal – Education
Hailing from a middle-class family, the Zomato founder, Deepinder Goyal, had a modest upbringing. After completing his graduation from the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, in 2005 in Mathematics and Computing, his interest in food was encouraged to conceive a venture that would help people have their lunch, breakfast, and dinner through the convenience of an app.
Deepinder Goyal – The Idea of Zomato
Ordering food from home wasn’t easy initially. To order food online, one had to choose from multiple restaurants without any information about the reviews and ratings. Discounts and offers on dining and food delivery were almost non-existent.
After graduating from IIT Delhi, Deepinder joined Bain and Company as a Senior Associate Consultant in January 2006. During his tenure with Bain, he founded FoodieBay.com, which later became Zomato.com. The idea of FoodieBay.com was his eureka moment. At Bain and Company, everyone had to stand in long queues to place their order. Deepinder and his colleague at Bain, Pankaj, came up with a creative solution to save the time they spent ordering food.
It was then that the duo decided to create a website for food ordering for Bain employees using the company intranet. To their surprise, the website was a hit and received heavy traffic. The Zomato founders saw an opportunity that could revolutionize the food tech industry.
Rishabh Rathi
Deepinder Goyal – Zomato’s Growth
Deepinder’s idea kick-started a new era. Neither he nor his colleagues thought that their idea would give rise to one of the most popular food aggregation brands.
After their experiment and the response they got from it, they were forced to add more restaurants to the list. By the end of the year, FoodieBay.com was introduced in mega-cities like Kolkata and Mumbai. In the year 2010, their startup started serving customers in Pune and Bangalore.
Deepinder Goyal recently joined India’s billionaire club following a surge of over 300 percent in Zomato shares since last year, reaching a market cap of INR 1.8 lakh crore, according to Moneycontrol. At 41, Goyal has also become India’s richest professional manager, with a net worth exceeding INR 8,300 crore.
PV Vyshnavi
Deepinder Goyal – Struggle
Deepinder’s initial hurdle came from his family, who were reluctant to leave his stable job at the firm and join the startup journey and lifestyle. Deepinder’s wife, Kanchan Joshi, whom he met at IIT, was reluctant initially but later supported his new lifestyle completely. After establishing the startup in big cities, the Zomato owner hired Gunjan Patidar, another IITian, to assist the team in Operations. He had a hectic time running FoodieBay.com since the concept was unique and unknown to people at that time, and difficulties were inevitable. He had to face numerous entrepreneurial problems to convert his hard work into success. During the first two years, they ran the website without any hurdles but found it difficult to scale as more and more restaurants and pubs were being covered under Zomato. It was also a difficult time for them due to dwindling financial resources and trouble in securing funding.
Deepinder Goyal – Raising funds for Zomato
When the Zomato team desperately needed funding, Info Edge came to its rescue. In August 2011, Info Edge invested $1 million in FoodieBay.com, which was when Zomato founder Deepinder Goyal and his team changed the company’s name to Zomato.com. The funding was a morale booster that prompted Deepinder and Pankaj to quit their jobs at Bain and Company and dedicate all their time to the growth of Zomato.
After this, the food delivery and ordering trend took India by storm, turning the tide for Zomato. Since their initial funding in 2011, they’ve gone on to be funded by several investors and achieved the status of a unicorn in 2018. They ended 2020 by closing a $660 million primary financing round at a post-money valuation of $3.9 billion.
With rapid developments in the technology sector, Zomato modified its ways and launched its applications in iOS, Android, and Windows. Increasing popularity gave way to expansion in cities like Chennai, Hyderabad, and Ahmedabad.
After expansion, Zomato collaborated with Citibank, which was named “Citibank Zomato Restaurant Guide.”
The company is now publicly traded. On July 23, 2021, the shares were listed on the BSE and NSE. Its IPO price range was INR 72 to INR 76 per share. The market capitalization of Zomato is $29.94 billion (as of April 2025). It is the 817th most valuable company in the world based on market value.
Deepinder Goyal – The Dream Flight
Under Zomato CEO Deepinder’s guidance, the company expanded its operations in countries such as Dubai, UAE, Sri Lanka, Qatar, the United Kingdom, South Africa, the Philippines, and New Zealand.
During FY 2011-2012, Zomato Media Pvt. Ltd. reported revenues worth INR 2.04 crores, which ballooned to INR 11.38 crores during the financial year 2012-2013.
Zomato had around 2.5 million visitors on its website in March 2012. This increased exponentially to 62.5 million during 2014. Their revenues surged too, INR 30.06 crore generated in 2012 as revenue increased to INR 96.7 crore in 2015. Zomato recorded a growth rate of 68.9% in its gross revenue, reaching INR 7,079 crores in FY23.
In Q3 FY25, Zomato posted a revenue of INR 5,405 crore, marking a 64.4% increase from the previous year. However, its profit declined by 57% year-on-year to INR 59 crore due to rising expenses.
Yash Taneja
Deepinder Goyal – Continue
Zomato co-founder and CEO, Deepinder Goyal, has launched a new health and wellness startup called ‘Continue’ on 21st October 2024. This venture is focused on health tracking and mental wellness. The website, Continue.com, is still in a secretive “stealth mode,” so not many details are available yet. The company, called Upslope Advisors Pvt Ltd, was registered in April 20. Deepinder Goyal is a Director, and two Zomato employees, Akriti Mehta and Simrandeep Singh, are listed as Additional Directors, based on information from the Ministry of Corporate Affairs. This is Deepinder Goyal’s personal venture at this point.
Update on Continue
Been getting a lot of curious messages since the morning, so here’s an update on Continue.
It is as of now, my personal health and wellness team, entirely funded by me, which tracks and researches how to keep me running at my peak performance.
Spending…
— Deepinder Goyal (@deepigoyal) October 21, 2024
Deepinder Goyal – Success Story: An Inspiration
Deepinder has shown how to grow a business by setting up examples for his co-workers. Working for 24 hours is never a cakewalk, especially when there’s pressure from parents upon leaving a well-settled job. Under his guidance, Zomato has received multiple awards, mostly user choice, which proves customer satisfaction. At the age of 31, Deepinder Goyal, the founder of Zomato, won the Economic Times Startup of the Year. Rising from the lowest moments of despair and distress to revolutionizing an entire segment is no simple feat. That’s what Deepinder Goyal has achieved. A millennial cannot imagine life without Zomato—Deepinder has taken his venture to enviable heights!
Deepinder Goyal – Shark Tank India
Deepinder Goyal was one of the new sharks on Shark Tank India season 3. At the age of 40, he became an inspiration to young people and has chosen to impart his knowledge to aspiring entrepreneurs. He joined Ritesh Agarwal, the founder and CEO of OYO Rooms, Azhar Iqubal, the co-founder and CEO of Inshorts, and the returning sharks Aman Gupta, Anupam Mittal, Namita Thapar, Vineeta Singh, and Peyush Bansal on the panel.
The Zomato founder invested in unique and scalable firms in Shark Tank India season 3. He was particularly interested in businesses that were challenging the status quo and had the ability to make a significant difference in people’s lives. Goyal’s addition to the panel of sharks was indeed more exciting and informative.
Deepinder Goyal wrote this on his social media:
All growth comes from discomfort.
I am here to learn, step outside my comfort zone, and add my two special cents to something crazy.
This is turning out to be a weekend well spent outside of @zomato.
SharkTankIndia season 3 streaming soon on @SonyLIV#SharkTankIndiaOnSonyLIV… pic.twitter.com/TTltf5QFDQ
— Deepinder Goyal (@deepigoyal) October 7, 2023
As per reports, the food delivery platform and Zomato’s competitor, Swiggy is close to finalizing a deal to sponsor the fourth season of Shark Tank India season 4. Swiggy has requested that Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal not return as an investor, according to Goyal. This decision highlights the growing competition between the two food delivery companies.
“I unfortunately can’t go back because Swiggy sponsored Shark Tank this time and kicked me out,” Goyal said at the ET Startup Awards 2024 on 5th October, 2024.
“Apparently, that’s what I heard. They (Swiggy) said that this is the sponsorship, and DP (Deepinder Goyal) can’t be on the show,” he added.
Damini Bhandary
Deepinder Goyal – Controversies
In March 2025, a public clash happened between Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal and Zepto CEO Aadit Palicha over the quick commerce market. Goyal said the industry was losing around INR 5,000 crore every quarter, and blamed Zepto for more than half of it.
Palicha replied on LinkedIn, calling Goyal’s claims “verifiably untrue.” He said Zepto’s financials would prove him wrong, but still showed respect for Goyal, calling it possibly a mistake.
Later, Palicha accused a rival CFO of spreading lies to investors and using social media bots to damage Zepto’s image.
This dispute shows the rising tension in the fast-growing quick commerce space in India.
Deepinder Goyal started a debate on 20th November 2024 by offering a Chief of Staff job with a strange condition. In this job, the applicants must pay INR 20 lakh to get the job, and there will be no salary at first. Goyal said this Chief of Staff job will give 10 times more learning than a two-year course at a top business school. Another benefit is working closely with him and some of the smartest people in consumer tech.
Update: I am looking for a chief of staff for myself. pic.twitter.com/R4XPp3CefJ
— Deepinder Goyal (@deepigoyal) November 20, 2024
The job post got mixed reactions on social media. Many users said it is unfair to talented people from less wealthy backgrounds who can’t pay INR 20 lakh upfront or cover their basic needs for a year.
A day after this controversial Chief of Staff job post, Goyal said on 21st November 2024 that they got over 18,000 applications. He explained that the INR 20 lakh fee was just a way to filter candidates and wouldn’t actually be charged.
Deepinder Goyal – Investments
Deepinder Goyal has made 22 investments. His most recent investment was in March 2025, in LAT Aerospace of $20 million, a new startup he co-founded with Surobhi Das, the former Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Zomato.
| Date | Company Name | Round | Amount Invested |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 12, 2025 | LAT Aerospace | – | $20 million |
| Apr 24, 2024 | Lyskraft | Seed | $27 million |
| Apr 3, 2024 | Mave Health | Pre Seed | $731K |
| Mar 20, 2024 | Ultrahuman | Series B | $25 million |
| Jun 26, 2023 | Mainstreet | Seed | $2 million |
| Jul 27, 2022 | Threado | Seed | $3.1 million |
| Jan 13, 2022 | Allo Health | Seed | $4.4 million |
| Jan 12, 2022 | The Signal | Seed | $281K |
| Dec 10, 2021 | Shiprocket | Series E | $185 million |
| Dec 07, 2021 | Pristyn Care | Series E | $100 million |
| Nov 27, 2021 | ChefKart | Seed | $2 million |
| Nov 26, 2021 | Raise | Series A | $22.7 million |
| Nov 01, 2021 | Multiplier | Series A | $13.2 million |
| Oct 29, 2021 | Park+ | Series B | $25 million |
| Aug 14, 2021 | Ultrahuman | Series B | $17.5 million |
| Aug 01, 2021 | Unacademy | Series H | $440 million |
| Jul 13, 2021 | Animall | Series B | $13.8 million |
| Jul 10, 2021 | Geniemode | Seed | $2.25 million |
| Jul 08, 2021 | Shiprocket | Series D | $41.3 million |
| May 01, 2021 | Airblack | Series A | $5.2 million |
| Oct 06, 2020 | Uni Cards | Seed | $18.7 million |
| Aug 11, 2020 | Terra.do | Seed | $1.4 million |
Ria Sahni
Deepinder Goyal – Awards and Achievements
Goyal has been awarded the following awards and recognitions:
- In 2011, Deepinder Goyal received the Economic Times Startup of the Year Award.
- In 2012, he was honored with the Business Today Young Business Leader Award.
- In 2018, he was recognized with the Distinguished Alumni Award from IIT Delhi.
- In 2019, Goyal was awarded the GQ Men of the Year Award.
- In 2020, he was featured in the Fortune India 40 Under 40 List.
- Most recently, in 2023, he was a finalist for the EY Entrepreneur of the Year award.
FAQs
Who is Deepinder Goyal?
Deepinder Goyal is the founder and CEO of Zomato, a leading online food delivery and restaurant discovery platform.
Which Indian Engineer and Entrepreneur Is the Co-founder of Zomato?
Deepinder Goyal is the Co-founder & CEO of Zomato.
What is Deepinder Goyal Education qualification?
Deepinder Goyal graduated from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, with a degree in Mathematics and Computing.
What is Deepinder Goyal age?
Deepinder Goyal, Zomato owner, is 42 years old. He was born on 26 January 1983.
What is Deepinder Goyal birthplace?
Deepinder Goyal was born in Punjab, India.
Who is Deepinder Goyal wife?
Grecia Munoz is the wife of Deepinder Goyal.
What is Deepinder Goyal net worth?
Deepinder Goyal net worth as of April 2025 is $1.3 billion.
Who was Deepinder Goyal first wife?
Kanchan Joshi was the first wife of Deepinder Goyal.
When was Deepinder Goyal born?
Deepinder Goyal was born on 26 January, 1983.
Where is Deepinder Goyal hometown?
Deepinder Goyal was born in a village in Punjab, and now lives in Gurugram.
