Tag: 📄Company Profiles

BlueStone: How It Carved a Niche in India’s $85B Jewelry Market

Company Profile is an initiative by StartupTalky to publish verified information on different startups and organizations.

BlueStone is a renowned online jewelry brand that has revolutionized the way consumers shop for fine jewelry in India. With a focus on quality and design, BlueStone ensures that each piece is crafted with precision, using ethically sourced materials. The brand’s user-friendly platform allows customers to customize designs, making the jewelry shopping experience personal and engaging.

This StartupTalky article explores BlueStone’s journey, innovative business model, and its impact on the Indian jewelry market.

BlueStone – Company Highlights

Name	Bluestone
Headquarters	Bangalore
Sector	E-commerce
Founder	Gaurav Singh Kushwaha
Founded	2011
Valuation	$970 million (March 2025)
Website	Bluestone.com

BlueStone – About
BlueStone – Industry
BlueStone – Founders and Team
BlueStone – Startup Story
BlueStone – Mission and Vision
BlueStone – Name, Tagline and Logo
BlueStone – Business Model
BlueStone – Revenue Model
BlueStone – Challenges Faced
BlueStone – Funding and Investors
BlueStone – Growth
BlueStone – Financials
BlueStone – IPO
BlueStone – Online and Social Media Presence
BlueStone – Awards and Achievements
BlueStone – Competitors
BlueStone – Future Plans

BlueStone – About

Since its launch in 2011, BlueStone has grown into one of India’s go-to destinations for elegant, high-quality jewelry. Whether you’re looking for something timeless or trendy, they’re here to elevate your jewelry experience with a blend of creativity, quality, and personalized service.

They offer a dazzling collection of over 8,000 unique designs—each one crafted with meticulous care and attention to detail. What makes them stand out? You have the freedom to tailor your jewelry exactly to your liking. Adjust the gold purity, color, or diamond clarity to fit your style and occasion with a motto of ‘Your vision, your jewelry!’

Their stores are more than just a place to shop—they’re designed to offer an immersive experience. With a welcoming atmosphere, knowledgeable staff, and the sparkle of their stunning collections, each visit is a memorable one. Team BlueStone strives to make every customer feel at home while exploring the brilliance of their jewelry.

Behind each piece is their award-winning design team, ensuring that every product you pick up is a masterpiece. Leveraging cutting-edge technology and innovative craftsmanship, they bring you jewelry that shines as bright as your special moments. Whether you’re buying for yourself or a loved one, BlueStone promises excellence in every detail.

BlueStone – Industry

India’s jewelry industry plays a vital role in the nation’s economy, contributing around 7% to its GDP as of early 2022, and employing approximately 5 million people. The sector, especially known for its gold and diamond trade, has immense growth potential, making it a key focus for export promotion. Recent initiatives by the government, such as allowing 100% Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and signing the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with the UAE, have further boosted this potential by enhancing global market access and encouraging investment.

Despite a slight decline in exports in FY24, India’s gems and jewelry industry remains strong, with its market size expected to reach $100 billion by 2027. The future growth will likely be driven by the rise of organized retail brands, which bring innovation, diverse products, and expanded market reach. Additionally, relaxed gold import restrictions, stabilizing gold prices, and low-cost gold loans are set to fuel further expansion in the sector. India’s status as a hub for jewelry manufacturing, with over 450 organized players, ensures it will continue to play a significant role in global markets.

BlueStone – Founders and Team

Gaurav Singh Kushwaha

CEO and Founder
Gaurav Singh Kushwaha, the visionary founder and CEO of BlueStone, has reshaped India’s fine jewelry market with his innovative approach to blending the digital and physical shopping experience. An IIT Delhi alumnus, Gaurav’s entrepreneurial journey spans over two decades, during which he pioneered India’s first Web 2.0 portal, tapping into the early wave of social media and carving out a name as a forward-thinking leader.

Before launching BlueStone, Gaurav Singh Kushwaha co-founded Chakpak, an online entertainment portal, in 2007. Under his leadership, Chakpak secured two rounds of funding, marking his first entrepreneurial success. Before his ventures, Gaurav gained valuable experience working at Amazon, both in the USA and India, where he honed his skills in tech and business strategy. These experiences laid the foundation for his entrepreneurial journey, ultimately leading him to establish BlueStone and revolutionize the fine jewelry industry.

Sudeep Nagar

Sudeep Nagar, the COO of BlueStone, has been a driving force behind the company’s evolution into a leading omnichannel fine jewelry brand in India. A graduate of IIM Ahmedabad, Sudeep brings a wealth of experience from his work in tech, sales, and luxury real estate, skills he has skillfully applied to BlueStone over the past decade. Before his pivotal role at BlueStone, Sudeep Nagar served as the Deputy General Manager of Sales Strategy and Planning at the Lodha Group. He has also worked at Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC) and HCL Technologies. His strategic insights and experience in this position helped shape his understanding of market dynamics and customer needs.

BlueStone – Startup Story

Gaurav Kushwaha is more than just the founder and CEO of BlueStone Jewellery; he’s a trailblazer who identified the immense potential within the online jewelry sector. A daring entrepreneur at heart, Gaurav excels in creating businesses that challenge the norm while achieving profitability.

His entrepreneurial path began at the young age of 27 when he launched his first website in 2006 – Chakpak. It was a popular movie review platform where users could engage, debate, and share their views on films. Within just three years, it rose to become one of the top 50 websites in India, showcasing its widespread appeal.

Building on this success, founder Gaurav Kushwaha, along with Vidya Nataraj, ventured into the world of fine jewelry by starting BlueStone in 2011. BlueStone quickly gained recognition as a leading online destination for exquisite jewelry, offering customers high-quality, customizable pieces with a seamless shopping experience.

One of its remarkable achievements includes securing a personal investment from Ratan Tata, a distinguished figure in Indian business.

The first meeting with Tata in Mumbai was a noteworthy moment in Gaurav’s journey. Rather than simply pursuing financial support, Gaurav sought to learn from the respected entrepreneur. Tata’s guidance was straightforward yet impactful: prioritize creating value for customers and strive to build an outstanding product, service, and workplace culture. This mantra has been instrumental for Gaurav and his team at BlueStone.

BlueStone – Mission and Vision

Mission Statement: At BlueStone, the mission is to deliver exquisite jewelry that resonates with every individual’s unique style and occasion. Each piece is individually crafted and undergoes rigorous quality checks to ensure that it meets the highest standards of purity and authenticity before it reaches your doorstep. Whether you’re looking for plain gold, dazzling diamonds, or vibrant gemstone jewelry, BlueStone offers a design to suit every mood and budget.

Vision: The vision of BlueStone revolves around building trust and transparency in the jewelry industry. They are committed to maintaining ethical practices across social, environmental, and business dimensions, ensuring no compromise on integrity. By allowing customers to personalize their jewelry choices, BlueStone fosters a lifelong relationship, offering a seamless exchange experience and a commitment to customer satisfaction that extends far beyond the initial purchase.

BlueStone – Name, Tagline and Logo

BluesStone Logo

The BlueStone logo is a stunning embodiment of luxury and elegance, featuring a harmonious blend of blue and white hues. The glossy finish of the logo reflects sophistication, instantly capturing the eye and conveying a sense of refined quality. The deep blue symbolizes trust and reliability, while the crisp white accentuates purity and clarity, echoing the brand’s commitment to authenticity in every piece of jewelry. This striking logo not only represents the essence of BlueStone but also resonates with customers seeking exquisite craftsmanship and a touch of elegance in their jewelry choices.

BlueStone – Business Model

BlueStone has carved a niche for itself in the online jewelry retail industry with a forward-thinking eCommerce business model. By integrating technology, craftsmanship, and customer engagement, the brand has become a dominant player in this competitive space. Here’s a closer look at how BlueStone operates:

Online Retail Focus: Customers can easily browse, customize, and purchase jewelry from the comfort of their homes.
B2C Model: Eliminates the need for middlemen, enhancing cost efficiencies and providing a personalized shopping experience.
Extensive Product Range: Offers over 8,000 unique designs, including rings, bracelets, and everyday accessories, catering to diverse customer preferences.
Money Return Guarantee: Provides a 30-day money-back guarantee to build trust and confidence in purchases.
Customization Options: Customers can tailor their jewelry to their liking, enhancing engagement and satisfaction.
Quality Assurance: Ensures that every piece meets high-quality standards with full transparency in pricing and materials.
Physical Retail Presence: Maintains physical stores alongside the online platform to offer a comprehensive shopping experience.
Quick Delivery Options: Includes next-day delivery to enhance customer convenience.
Try-at-Home Service: Allows customers to try jewelry from home, avoiding crowded retail environments.
Customer Incentives: Offers Blue Cash, discounts, and subscription plans to foster customer loyalty and engagement.

BlueStone – Revenue Model

The revenue model of BlueStone is strategically designed to maximize earnings through multiple streams. By focusing on product sales, customization, and innovative subscription plans, BlueStone ensures a sustainable and profitable business. Here’s how BlueStone generates revenue:

Product Sales: The primary source of income comes from the sale of jewelry items via both online and physical stores.
Customization Fees: Additional charges apply to customers who choose to personalize their jewelry, contributing to revenue growth.
Subscription Plans: Offers programs like the Gold Mine 10+1 Plan, providing members with exclusive discounts and offers, and encouraging repeat business.
Strong Customer Service: Committed to exceptional customer experience, which drives repeat purchases and increases overall sales.
User-Friendly Interface: An easy-to-navigate platform that enhances customer satisfaction and boosts conversion rates.
Quality and Authenticity: The brand’s commitment to high standards ensures customer trust, leading to increased sales and referrals.

BlueStone – Challenges Faced

The jewelry industry has traditionally lacked the incentive to embrace technological advancements due to its fundamentally different business model, as noted by Gaurav Singh Kushwaha, founder and CEO of BlueStone. While the Indian eCommerce market has rapidly expanded, creating an illusion of permanence in online shopping, many consumers were still in college when Flipkart launched just a decade ago. The evolution of Indian eCommerce began with commoditized products like books and electronics, eventually branching out into more personal categories such as apparel and jewelry.

In contrast to conventional jewelers, who maintain substantial inventories for customers to explore in-store, BlueStone operates with a vast catalog of over 6,000 designs that are made to order. To address this unique challenge, BlueStone invested significantly in technology and logistics—not merely for website functionality like most eCommerce platforms but specifically for the manufacturing processes of the jewelry they sell. By establishing its manufacturing facility that is closely integrated with its website, BlueStone has innovated across the entire production chain, enabling it to create products within a three to five-day timeframe. This operational model aligns more closely with companies like Lenskart, which manufactures glasses on demand, rather than traditional marketplaces such as Flipkart or Amazon.

BlueStone – Funding and Investors

Since its founding, BlueStone has reached impressive milestones. The company attracted a substantial investment of INR 100 crore from Nikhil Kamath, co-founder of Zerodha. With manufacturing facilities in Mumbai and Jaipur, BlueStone has successfully enhanced its production capabilities.

Following several funding rounds from both emerging and established investors, the company’s valuation skyrocketed to around $970 million.

Date of Funding	Funding Amount	Round Name	Investors
August 22, 2024	INR 900 crore	Series F	Peak XV Partners, Prosus, Think, Pratithi Investments Steadview
June 24, 2024	$12 million	Conventional Debt	Neo Markets Services
March 11, 2024	$9 million	Venture Debt	Trifecta Capital
September 28, 2023	$70.6 million	Series F	Info Edge Ventures,, IvyCap Ventures, NV Holdings, Twin & Bull, Stride Ventures, Alteria Capital, Ohm Enterprises, Pratithi Investments, Innoven Capital, Kalaari Capital, Iron Pillar360 One, NKSquared Global, Kamath Associates, Girnar Growth Ventures, Nezone Enterprises, Prabhushree Trading.Angel Investors: Raveen Sastry, Ashwin Kedia, Deepinder Goyal, Sakar Bora
March 15, 2022	$30 million	Angel	Sunil Kant Munjal, GrowthStory
July 06, 2021	$6.5 million	Series E	Innoven Capital, Accel, AT Capital Group, Saama Capital Brainstorm Force, Ashoka.Angel Investors: Esha Parnami, Nitin Rajput, Saurabh Mehta
May 29, 2020	$2.0 million	Series D	Accel, Kalaari Capital, Iron Pillar, IvyCap Ventures, Saama Capital, 360 One
April 26, 2019	$5.0 million	Series D	Accel, IvyCap Ventures, Dragoneer Investment Group, Kalaari Capital, Iron Pillar, RB investments, Saama Capital, 360 One, Avanz Capital. Angel Investors: Raveen Sastry
February 21, 2018	$8.1 million	Series D	OBOR Capital, Kalaari Capital, Accel, Iron Pillar,IvyCap Ventures,RB investments, Fairmont Capital, Saama Capital, IIFL Finance, 360 OneAngel Investor: Gaurav Deepak
July 01, 2016	$76.4 million	Series D	Accel, Iron Pillar,Kalaari Capital,IvyCap Ventures,RB investments,Saama Capital, Dragoneer Investment Group, Innoven Capital, IIFL Finance
July 10, 2015	$16.0 million	Series C	Accel,IvyCap Ventures,Kalaari Capital,Dragoneer Investment Group, Saama Capital.
March 18, 2014	$10 million	Series B	Kalaari Capital,Accel,Saama Capital, RNT Associates
January 24, 2012	$5.3 million	Series A	Accel, Saama Capital,SVB.Angel Investor: K Ganesh
October 16, 2011	$200K	Angel	Angel Investor: Manjusha Anumola, Ganesh Narayan

BlueStone – Growth

BlueStone is positioning itself as a key player in India’s jewelry market, competing with major brands like Titan’s Tanishq, Kalyan Jewellers, and Senco Gold. Founded by Gaurav Singh Kushwaha and Vidya Nataraj in 2011, BlueStone has expanded its operations to include over 203 physical stores across 86 cities in 26 states and union territories in India as of June 30, 2024.

The company offers a catalog of over 7,000 unique jewelry designs. BlueStone manufactures its jewelry in Mumbai, Jaipur, and other locations. Initially an e-commerce brand, BlueStone ventured into offline retail with its first store in Delhi’s Pacific Mall in 2018 and has since expanded to multiple locations across the country.

BlueStone – Financials

BlueStone Financials	FY25	FY24
Operating Revenue	INR 1770 crore	INR 1266 crore
Total Expenses	INR 2050 crore	INR 1446 crore
Profit/Loss	Loss of INR 222 crore	Loss of INR 142 crore

The company’s sole revenue stream was the sale of diamond, gold, platinum, gemstone, and pearl jewelry, with an average order value (AOV) of INR 47,671 in FY25. This growth was steered by increasing store maturity and a broader product portfolio. The Bengaluru-based company operated 275 stores across 117 cities in 26 states and union territories by March 2025.

Meanwhile, online sales contributed only 6.66% of the total sales, while the rest of the income came from stores and other channels.

On the expense side, Bluestone’s cost of materials remained its largest expense head, which increased by 46% to INR 1,098 crore and accounted for 54% of total expenses. Employee benefit expenses rose 47% to INR 203 crore, while advertising costs stood at INR 159 crore, up 28% from FY24.

Other operational expenses and finance costs contributed another INR 643 crore. Overall, total expenses rose 42% to INR 2,050 crore in the last fiscal year (FY25) from INR 1,446 crore in FY24.

BlueStone – IPO

BlueStone has received approval from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for its upcoming Initial Public Offering (IPO). The IPO will include a fresh issue of shares worth INR 1,000 crore and an Offer For Sale (OFS) of up to 23,986,883 equity shares by existing shareholders.

The company intends to allocate INR 750 crore from the fresh issue to fund working capital requirements and for general corporate purposes. The offering will follow a book-building process, with at least 75% of the net offer reserved for Qualified Institutional Buyers (QIBs), up to 15% for Non-Institutional Investors (NIIs), and up to 10% for Retail Individual Investors (RIIs).

BlueStone – Online and Social Media Presence

BlueStone employs a multifaceted digital marketing strategy that leverages the strengths of both online marketing and social media to craft a comprehensive promotional plan. By collaborating with well-known actresses, celebrities, and influencers, the brand effectively targets its desired audience, creating a direct connection that resonates with potential customers. Their commitment to cultivating a robust following across various social media platforms has significantly enhanced engagement and bolstered brand visibility. Campaigns featuring prominent Indian figures, like Alia Bhatt, exemplify their approach, further solidifying their allure among consumers.

Recognizing the importance of deeper engagement with their audience, BlueStone has strategically focused on the modern Indian woman, whose interest in jewelry is driven more by fashion and aspiration than by investment value. To address this, the brand has developed captivating social media campaigns tailored to resonate with its audience, successfully capturing attention and igniting interest in its diverse jewelry offerings.

To maximize the effectiveness of its messaging, BlueStone has seamlessly integrated its campaigns across email communications and below-the-line (BTL) initiatives, ensuring a consistent and cohesive brand narrative throughout all channels. Additionally, the company has produced engaging web film scripts to raise awareness about its services, demonstrating its commitment to enhancing customer interaction. Through these innovative digital marketing approaches, BlueStone continues to solidify its position as a trendsetter in the jewelry industry.

BlueStone – Awards and Achievements

Outstanding e-Retail Performance: BlueStone’s excellence in the online retail space.
Best Online Jewellery Portal: Awarded by the India Bullion and Jewellers Association.
Luxury e-Retailer of the Year: Awarded at the 4th Indian Retail & e-Retail Awards in 2015.
Fortune India’s “40 Under 40”: Gaurav Kushwaha, CEO of BlueStone, was featured in this list, recognizing him as one of India’s top young entrepreneurs driving innovation and growth in the jewelry sector.

BlueStone – Competitors

Bluestone’s close competitor, CaratLane, which is owned by Titan, reported impressive financial results for FY24, with INR 3,081 crore in revenue and a INR 79 crore profit. Other competitors:

Tanishq
Joyalukkas
Kalyan Jewellers
Melorra

BlueStone – Future Plans

Bluestone is focusing on aggressive expansion, both online and offline, to solidify its position in the jewelry market. They plan to grow their store network, enhance their omnichannel presence, and leverage technology for a seamless customer experience. The company also plans to launch an IPO to raise capital for these expansion plans and for general corporate purposes.

FAQs

What is BlueStone?

Established in 2011, BlueStone is India’s leading destination for high-quality fine jewelry with strikingly exquisite designs. It is one of India’s largest eCommerce portals for fine jewelry.

Who is the founder of BlueStone?

Gaurav Singh Kushwaha is the founder of BlueStone.

When was BlueStone founded?

BlueStone was founded in 2011.

Who are the main competitors of BlueStone?

The main competitors of BlueStone include CaratLane, Tanishq, Joyalukkas, Kalyan Jewellers, Mellora, and more.

August 7, 2025

Curefoods: How is the Cloud Kitchen Startup Enabling Growth of Food Brands in India

When the online food delivery market is seeing a rise in the country, there is another related sector that is rapidly peeking its way into the market. Cloud Kitchen, as a name, sounds familiar and strange at the same time, is a new concept in our country that was introduced somewhere around 2010. The popularity and demand for Cloud Kitchens have started soaring up after the COVID pandemic.

Curefoods is one such Cloud Kitchen startup that was established to provide healthy and loving food to customers through its multiple brands. Utilizing the prevailing public admiration and anticipated future demand for Cloud Kitchens, Curefoods is marching on the path of growth and expansion.

Here is the story behind the Curefoods Founders, Startup Story, Mission and Vision, Business Model, Revenue Model, Products, Funding and Investors, Competitors, and more.

Curefoods – Company Highlights

STARTUP NAME	CUREFOODS
Headquarters	Bangalore, Karnataka, India
Sector	Food and Beverage Services
Founder	Ankit Nagori
Founded	2020
Website	curefoods.in

Curefoods – About
Curefoods – Industry
Curefoods – Founders and Team
Curefoods – Mission and Vision
Curefoods – Name and Logo
Curefoods – Business Model
Curefoods – Revenue Model
Curefoods – Funding and Investors
Curefoods – Shareholding
Curefoods – Financials
Curefoods – Mergers and Acquisitions
Curefoods – Competitors
Curefoods – Future Plans

Curefoods – About

Curefoods is an Indian Cloud Kitchen brand that was established in 2020. This startup was founded by Ankit Nagori and is headquartered in Bangalore. It aims at feeding people the food they love that remains nutritious and healthy at the same time. Curefoods has incorporated technology and modern solutions on all its fronts, like cooking, packaging, waste management, etc., to ensure its long-term sustainability in the market.

The company operates through various brands under its control and is continuously expanding its business through acquisitions, mergers and funding. After its merger with Maverix in January 2022, Curefoods became the second-largest Cloud Kitchen brand in India.

Curefoods – Industry

The Indian food and beverage market is expected to develop significantly in the coming years, according to Maximize Market Research’s report, which also shows that the market is expected to expand significantly in size. The market is expected to grow at a strong Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 11.05% from 2023 to 2029, when it is expected to reach nearly US $622.67 billion by 2029. The enormous potential and profitable prospects in the Indian food and beverage industry are highlighted by this forecast.

The anticipated expansion highlights the nation’s shifting food patterns, rising levels of disposable income, and changing consumer tastes. With such bright futures, companies in this sector are well-positioned to benefit from India’s expanding need for a wide range of food and drink items.

Curefoods – Founders and Team

Ankit Nagori is the Founder of Curefoods.

Ankit Nagori

Ankit Nagori is the Founder of the Cloud Kitchen startup Curefoods. He was born in Bihar in October 1985 and holds a Bachelor’s degree from IIT Guwahati. Ankit founded another two startups namely, Youthpad.com and Simply Sport Foundation in 2007 and 2020 respectively. He is also a co-founder of Curefit. Earlier, between 2010 and 2016, he served as the Chief Business Officer of Flipkart.

Ankit Nagori – Founder of Curefoods

Curefoods – Mission and Vision

Curefoods runs with a mission: “to make honest food that customers love.” It wanted to provide quality and healthy foods that people love sustainably.

The company’s vision is to “build the ecosystem and grow with the suppliers.” For a sustainable operation, Curefoods believes in being eco-friendly and hence is working towards waste management and eco-friendly packaging techniques.

Curefoods – Name and Logo

Curefoods Logo

The logo of Curefoods comes in a Deep Sapphire tint, where the name ‘Curefoods’ in all caps would be present in the middle.

Curefoods – Business Model

Curefoods follows the Thrasio-style model of business. Thrasio refers to the name of a company in the United States. This company acquires or collaborates with small and successful sellers on e-commerce platforms like Amazon and invests more in those companies to make them huge and well established under a single brand name.

Curefoods follows a similar pattern and has acquired a lot of small food startups across the country. The main idea behind this is to provide people with multiple options to choose their food based on their choices. Curefoods receives orders, cooks them, and delivers them to your doorstep.

Curefoods – Revenue Model

CureFoods generates revenue through two primary streams: the sale of products and advertising/promotional services.

Sales of Goods: CureFoods generates income through the sale of a wide variety of food and drink goods. These goods could be prepared meals, snacks, drinks, and ingredients for cooking.

Consumers can buy these products straight from CureFoods’ website or through partnerships with retail stores. CureFoods is able to realize the full value of its products through the selling of these items at a profit over their cost of production.

Advertising and Promotional Services: CureFoods uses its platform to provide food and beverage brands with advertising and promotional services in addition to product sales.

Curefoods – Funding and Investors

Curefoods raised $6.6 million in a debt financing round from BlackSoil, Binny Bansal, and Caspian Investments in March 2025.

The following contains the Curefoods funding in detail:

Date	Stage	Amount	Investors
March 23, 2025	Debt Financing	$6.6 million	BlackSoil, Binny Bansal and Caspian Investments

March 18, 2024	Series D round	$25 million	Three State Ventures

April 6, 2023	Venture Rounds	INR 300 crore	Three State Capital
April 6, 2023	Debt Financing	–	Three State Capital
July 26, 2022	–	–	Nora Fatehi
June 1, 2022	Series C	$50 million	Chiratae Ventures, Alteria Capital, Accel India, NB Ventures, Iron Pillar, Winter Capital
April 6, 2022	Venture Round	–	Varun Dhawan
January 12, 2022	Venture Round	$49.3 million	Accel, Chiratae Ventures, Binny Bansal, Iron Pillar, Sixteenth Street Capital
January 12, 2022	Debt Financing	$9.3 million	Trifecta Capital, Alteria Capital and BlackSoil
October 22, 2021	Debt Financing	$10 million	Trifecta Capital and Alteria Capital
September 30, 2021	Venture Round	$48.1 million	Trifecta Capital
August 24, 2021	Series A	$12.2 million	Kunal Shah, Binny Bansal, Iron Pillar, Nordstar, Lydia Jett

Curefoods – Shareholding

Curefood’s shareholding pattern as of February 2025, sourced from Tracxn:

Curefoods Shareholders	Percentage
Ankit Nagori	28.7%
Iron Pillar	7.7%
Chiratae Ventures	6.3%
Rockstone Ventures	4.2%
Accel	3.6%
Three State Capital	2.6%
Global Ecommerce Consolidation Fund	1.7%
RB Investments	1.4%
Zephyr Peacock	1.4%
Brand Capital	0.8%
Sixteenth Street Capital	0.6%
Alteria Capital	0.5%
Shinhan Venture Investment	0.4%
Nbventures	0.3%
Rukam Capital	0.2%
Rhodium Trust	0.2%
Trifecta Capital	0.2%
Singularity Ventures AMC	0.1%
FPGA Family Foundation	0.1%
LetsVenture	0.1%
Curefoods Rulezero Angel Investors Trust	0.1%
Pivot Investment Partners	< 0.1%
Qed Innovation	< 0.1%
Napatree Capital	< 0.1%
Potential Ventures	< 0.1%
Ananth Sankaranarayanan Family Trust	< 0.1%
BlackSoil	< 0.1%
EatFit	2.7%
Horizon Techno	0.3%
Allanasons	0.1%
The Ski Bum	< 0.1%
Frigerio Conserva Allana	< 0.1%
Angel	1.7%
Other People	0.1%
ESOP Pool	4.5%
Total	70.9%

Curefoods – Financials

Particulars	FY24	FY25
Revenue	INR 585 crore	INR 746 crore
Expenses	INR 807 crore	INR 944 crore
Profit/Loss	INR -173 crore	INR -170 crore

EBITDA

Particulars	FY24	FY25
EBITDA Margin	-12.91%	-7.48%
Expenses/INR of OP Revenue	INR -1.38	INR 1.27
ROCE	-23.34%	-18.6%

Curefoods – Mergers and Acquisitions

Curefoods has acquired 6 companies to date.

Here are the details:

Company Name	Date
Yumlane	Oct 30, 2023
Frozen Bottle	Mar 10, 2022
Fingerlix	Jan 27, 2022
Ammi’s Biryani	Oct 22, 2021
CakeZone	Oct 22, 2021
Masalabox Food Networks	Oct 22, 2021

Curefoods – Investment

CureFoods has made strategic investments in two companies. During its Seed Round, CureFoods invested INR 10 crore in Hogr on December 18, 2023. CureFoods first took part in a Corporate Round investment in Millet Express on May 1, 2023.

With these investments, CureFoods is demonstrating its dedication to advancing innovation and growth in the food and beverage sector, as well as broadening its market presence.

Curefoods – Competitors

Curefoods has the following major competitors in the market:

Rebel Foods

Rebel Foods is considered to be the largest Cloud Kitchen brand in the world that does business in over 10 countries. Rebel Foods owns an online food delivery company, Faasos. This company excels in every aspect of its operation, like technology, branding, expansion, marketing strategies, etc. Rebel Foods has partnered with various international brands to firmly establish its business operations around the world.

Biryani by Kilo

Biryani By Kilo (BBK) is a biryani retail chain that is based in Gurgaon, Haryana. This startup is well-known for its aromatic biryani served in pots along with kebabs, korma, and the traditional phirni. BBK has expansion plans in and outside India.

SLAY Coffee

SLAY Coffee is a coffee chain that is the second-largest coffee brand in the country. This startup delivers its coffee through platforms like Swiggy and Zomato and is extremely well-rated among its customers.

Curefoods – Future Plans

Picking up a global QSR brand name at this scale of the business serves to send a signal to investors on growth ambitions, making it work has been anything but easy. Curefoods and its multi brand approach remains to be tested, especially with profits still distant, and H1 of FY 26 will probably be a good time to evaluate if the firm has discovered a path to profitability.

FAQs

When was Curefoods India founded?

Curefoods was founded in 2020.

Who is the Curefoods founder?

Ankit Nagori is the founder of Curefoods.

What is Curefoods valuation?

As sourced from Tracxn, Curefoods valuation is $451 million as of February 2025.

Who are the Competitors of Curefoods?

Top Competitors of Curefoods are:

Rebel Foods
Biryani By Kilo
SLAY Coffee

How is Binny Bansal connected with Cure foods?

Binny Bansal is known as the Flipkart founder and a billionaire Indian investor and entrepreneur, who left the company in November 2018. Binny Bansal stands as an investor in Curefoods.

What is Curefoods business model?

Curefoods follows a cloud kitchen business model, operating multiple food brands under one roof. It acquires, builds, and scales food brands, leveraging a centralized kitchen network for cost efficiency. The company focuses on online food delivery, using digital platforms and strategic brand partnerships to drive growth.

What are Curefoods products?

Curefoods owns and operates multiple food brands in the cloud kitchen space, catering to various customer preferences. Its key brands include EatFit (healthy meals), Sharief Bhai Biryani and Aligarh House Biryani (biryani and Mughlai cuisine), MasalaBox (home-style meals), Yumlane (ready-to-eat pizzas), CakeZone (cakes and desserts), and Nomad Pizza (artisanal pizzas). These brands primarily focus on online food delivery through platforms like Swiggy and Zomato.

What are Curefoods locations?

Curefoods operates across major Indian cities, including Bengaluru (HQ), Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai, Pune, and Kolkata. It has expanded into Tier-1 and Tier-2 cities through a network of cloud kitchens, serving customers via online food delivery platforms.

July 1, 2025

Cult.fit – How Does This India’s Leading Health and Fitness Company Make Money?

Company Profile is an initiative by StartupTalky to publish verified information on different startups and organizations.

Keeping fit should be the motto of every individual because that’s how one will have a healthy life. It is the most important thing for all of us not only to look better but also to feel better that will keep us away from illness and sickness.

As people are growing conscious about their health, so is the health and fitness industry. Many fitness professionals are promoting their fitness goals through online marketing to promote their fitness journey. As a result of this, there is the birth of many such health and fitness companies that are helping to live healthy lives.

Imagine you don’t want to go to the gym because of busy schedules or simply you want to have a health strategy that can help you guide you as per your body type and health requirement. Yes, it is possible to have this from the comforts of your house also. Cult.fit is one such online and offline based platform that offers preventive healthcare techniques.

Discover all about Cult.fit’s startup story, founders and team, business and revenue, funding and investors, acquisitions, and much more in this article.

Cult.fit – About
Cult.fit – Industry
Cult.fit – Founders and Team
Cult.fit – Startup Story
Cult.fit – Name, Logo, and Tagline
Cult.fit – Business Model
Cult.fit – Revenue Model
Cult.fit – Challenges Faced
Cult.fit – Funding and Investors
Cult.fit – Revenue
Cult.fit – Product And Services
Cult.fit – Acquistion
Cult.fit – Investments
Cult.fit – Advertisements and Social Media Campaigns
Cult.fit – Awards and Achievements
Cult.fit – Competitors
Cult.fit – Future plans

Cult.fit – Company Highlights

Startup Name	Cult.fit
Headquarters	Bangalore, India
Sector	Health and fitness
Founder	Mukesh Bansal and Ankit Nagori (Cure.fit)
Founded	2016
Parent company	Curefit healthcare
Website	www.cult.fit

Cult.fit – About

Formerly known as Cure.fit or Curefit, Cult.fit is a health service provider both online and offline. The online mode offers video-based live classes on on-demand fitness, yoga, and meditation sessions as per the membership plans. Other than online mode, they also have Gyms located in various cities across many states in India.

The platform gives training on arm workouts, core exercises, aerobics, yoga, meditation, home workouts, kids exercises, and various other fitness programmes.

Cult.fit has an app that the users have to download to get access to many programs, or they can join the gym with multiple membership plans as per their requirements.

Cult.fit – Industry

The Cult.fit comes under the health and fitness industry. The most interesting thing about this industry is that the total market size of the global health and fitness industry is over $87 billion.

In India especially, the number of health app downloads have been increased. According to some reports, India topped the list of having the maximum number of health app downloads about 157%.

The covid-19 pandemic has made more conscious about health than ever before. This is giving now opening people’s eyes to a more holistic approach. It is expected that this industry will have a CAGR of 17.6% from 2022 to 2030.

Cult.fit – Founders and Team

The company was founded by two businessmen – Mukesh Bansal and Ankit Nagori.

Mukesh Bansal

Mukesh Bansal, CEO of Cult.fit

Mukesh Bansal is an alumnus of IIT, Kanpur. Born in Uttarakhand, Mukesh started his journey before starting Cult.fit. He is the man behind Myntra’s foundation, an e-commerce platform.

Mukesh has worked at Deloitte as a system analyst and a few other Silicon Valley companies like eWanted, Centrata, NexTag, and newScale. He also worked as the Head of Commerce and Advertising Business at Flipkart, after acquiring Myntra.

Mukesh is a member of Olympics Gold Quest, a non-profit organisation promoting games and sports. He has also been featured in the Best 40 under 40 Entrepreneurs by Fortune Magazine.

Ankit Nagori

Ankit Nagori, Founder & CEO at Curefoods

Born in Bihar, Ankit Nagori is currently the co-founder of Cure.fit. Besides this, he is currently the CEO and founder of Curefoods. A graduate from IIT, Guwahati, Ankit had started a social media startup ‘Youthpad’ which went on for three years.

After working at Flipkart for six years, he came up with Cure.fit with Mukesh Bansal. But later, Ankit shifted his time investing in Curefoods (part of Eat.fit) in 2020 to provide healthy diets and a cloud-based kitchen. However, he still has a stake in Cult.fit or curefit. In 2019 he was chosen by the Entrepreneur Magazine in the Entrepreneur 35 under 35 business leaders list.

Cult.fit – Name, logo, and Tagline

Cult.fit Logo

Before Cult.fit, the company’s name was Cure.fit. The reason for rebranding was the brand’s massive growth in the fitness industry which has evolved them into a new brand and a new leader in the market.

The brand’s goal was to start various online programmes with several other membership passes known as the ‘cultpass’. Under the new name, the brand aims to expand its services to the eatfit marketplace, therapy, and teleconsultations. Cult.fit goes by the tagline, “Fitness is not an option”.

Cult.fit – Startup Story

Started in 2016 by two entrepreneurs, Cult.fit is now winning the hearts of many fitness enthusiasts. When Mukesh and Ankit set out to build the company there were no other health and fitness industry.

After quitting Flipkart, the duo who are both fitness freaks started to gather information and concluded that no one is paying attention to their health in a proactive manner.

They found that people are not at all serious about fitness and visit doctors only when an emergency happens. In India, chronic diseases are among the top leading causes of death. This is what pushed Mukesh and Ankit in launching a holistic approach toward health and create a platform for people where they can train and stay fit.

By applying their engineering knowledge they came up with a solution that would let people train as per their Body mass index (BMI), how much sleep per day they need, water levels, and overall activity daily.

This is how they started Cure.fit now Cult.fit. The duo managed to get some capital without an app.

In the initial days, Cult.fit used to have studios where they held Zumba classes, boxing, dancing, Yoga, and Strength and conditioning to make workouts a fun session. After having a successful offline mode, the company launched its app in 2017. Since they were in the industry first as a digital platform, a lot of customers onboarded quickly. That’s how the brand picked up and is continuing to grow.

Cult.fit – Business Model

The brand mainly operates through its online and offline modes. Their business model basically involves interactive coaching, and engagement through these two modes.

They operate by providing solutions that are seamless and end-to-end proactive health management to anyone interested to stay fit.

The brand has now restructured its business model after the Covid-19. During the pandemic, many of their centers were shut down, but that resulted in online home workouts, mental health, and well-being.

This turned the tables for them and Culf.fit started many live sessions and increased its library content. The company bought in various celebrity influencers like Yasmin Karachi Wala, Mandira Bedi, and Jonty Rodes.

The brand’s live sessions used to be free of cost but they started charging in May 2020.

Its key other business operations are

Eat.fit

The brand acquired ‘Kristy’s Kitchen’, which was a food-delivery startup. After acquiring the brand offered a subscription-based health diet to its customers.

Mind.fit

An initiative for Yoga and mental health, Cult.fit acquired the yoga studio ‘1000 yoga’ in 2017 and gave the name ‘Mind.fit’.

Care.fit

Launched Its first healthcare clinic in Bangalore in 2018.

Cult.fit – Revenue Model

The brand mostly gets its revenue from the fitness vertical, which contributed about 62.4% followed by food services which accounted for 34.5%. Its other services contributed about 3.06%.

Cult.fit – Challenges Faced

Cult.fit initially faced significant challenges on search engine optimization task centered around increasing traffic and improving the position of their center pages in order to raise awareness of their fitness centers around the country.

It was necessary to alleviate the limitations caused by pandemic-related regulations that kept people from going to exercise centers and gyms. Cult.fit took this to heart and worked hard to make sure that its facilities were visible and easily accessible, meeting the demands of people looking for fitness centers close to their homes.

However, according to the most recent information released on January 23, 2024, cult.fit has unfortunately started a cost-cutting exercise, which has led to the regrettable decision to fire between 100 and 120 staff.

This calculated strategic action demonstrates the organization’s resolve to overcome obstacles and adjust to the ever-changing fitness business landscape in the face of financial constraints and outside influences.

Cult.fit – Funding and Investors

Cult.fit has raised funds around $634.8 million in 12 rounds of funding.

Here are the funding details:

DATE	FUNDING ROUND	AMOUNT	COMPANY NAME
February 26, 2024	Series F	$10 million	Valecha Investments
November 10, 2021	Series F	$145 million	Zomato
November 03, 2021	–	$50 million	–
May 08, 2017	Series A	$3 million	RNT Capital
March 23, 2020	Series E	$75 million	Tata Digital
June 25, 2019	Series D	$120 million	Accel, Chiratae Ventures, Kalaari Capital, Oaktree Capital Management
July 30, 2018	Series C	$120 million	Accel, Chiratae Ventures, Kalaari Capital
July 04, 2016	Series A	$15 million	–
January 30, 2018	Debt Financing	$10 million	Axis Bank, HDFC Bank
December 22, 2017	–	$60 million	Brun Raschle, Endiya Partners
August 28, 2017	Series B	$25 million	–
May 08, 2017	Series A	$3 million	RNT Capital
July 04, 2016	Series A	$15 million	–

Cult.fit – Financials

Cult.fit Financials	FY24	FY23
Operating Revenue	INR 927 crore	INR 694 crore
Total Expenses	INR 1,563 crore	INR 1,493 crore
Profit/Loss	Loss of INR 534 crore	Loss of INR 534 crore

Cult.fit – Financials

Expenses

Cult.fit reported a 33.6% increase in its operating revenue of INR 927 crore in FY24 compared to INR 694 crore in FY23. Revenue from fitness subscriptions, including flagship services like Cultpass and Cult.fit centers and platform services, accounted for 72.3% of the total revenue which increased by 46.6% to 670 crore. The sportswear and fitness equipment segment, operated under Cultsport and other operating services, contributed INR 257 crore. Cult.fit reported a 62% decline in other income to INR 100.45 crore in FY24 from INR 265.36 crore in FY23 due to a plunge in Miscellaneous income which the company has not disclosed. However, Cultfit’s total income stood at INR 1,027 crore in FY24.

EBITDA

Employee benefit expenses contributed INR 324 crore, including INR 236 crore in salaries, and INR 57 crore in employee share-based payments. While the cost of materials for Cult.fit grew by 19.6% to INR 396 crore in FY24.

Its advertising cum promotional cost grew by 40.3% to INR 188 crore in FY24 while legal costs saw a surge of 57% to INR 124 crore. Information technology, traveling, and other overheads took the overall cost up by 4.7% to INR 1,563 crore in FY24 from INR 1,493 crore in FY23.

EBITDA FY24-FY23	FY24	FY23
EBITDA Margin	-17.38%	-22.8%
Expense/Rs of Op Revenue	INR 2.15	INR 1.69
ROCE	-17.4%	-21.5%

Cult.fit – Product And Services

Cult Gyms

The first three Cult Gym locations has opened in Bengaluru, according to Cult.fit, which announced that its chain of fitness centers would debut on September 7, 2021. It is anticipated that the company’s introduction of its own gym network will enable it to offer comprehensive fitness services to all of its clients.

Evolve Yoga

On September 12, 2023, Cult.fit introduced Evolve Yoga, a brand-new, revolutionary yoga style based on science that aims to improve mobility and flexibility.

Cult.fit – Acquistion

Cult.fit has acquired 14 companies to date.

Below are the details:

Company Name	Amount	Date
Gold’s Gym	–	Feb 14, 2022
OneFitPlus	–	Dec 20, 2021
RPM Fitness	–	Dec 20, 2021
Urban Terrain	–	Dec 20, 2021
FITSO	$50 Million	Nov 11, 2021
TREAD	–	Jun 10, 2021
Fitternity	–	Feb 9, 2021
Onyx	–	Jan 18, 2021
Rejoov	–	Apr 12, 2019
Seraniti	–	Nov 20, 2018

Cult.fit – Investments

Cult.fit has invested in three companies to date.

Below are the details:

Company Name	Funding Stage	Amount	Date
Sugar.fit	Series A	$10.94 million	Oct 31, 2023
Sugar.fit	Seed Round	$8.77 million	Sep 2, 2021
Cult	Venture Round	$2.40 million	Aug 24, 2016

Cult.fit – Advertisements and Social Media Campaigns

The brand has three major marketing strategies through which they advertise and create brand awareness.

Social media marketing by using Facebook, and Instagram keep its customers informed on everything about health.

Influencer marketing by signing influencers and celebrities. The brand has bought in influential people like Hrithik Roshan, Milind Soman, Tiger Shroff, Mandira Bedi, and Sindhu as well as other famous athletes.

Campaigns and other advertisements by using #fortheloveoffit and #cultlive to promote fitness and health.

The brand came up with a campaign in 2021 with the tagline “Fitness is not an option”

The brand cleverly sets the ad in the context of two Bollywood movies ‘Om Shanti Om’ and ‘Karan and Arjun’ to highlight their message about fitness and health across all walks of life. The brand wanted to attract its audience by entertainingly spreading its message.

Cult.fit – Awards and Achievements

The company has won the award for the Best Tech Startup to Work for 2021

Cult.fit – Competitors

The fitness and health industry is growing, which gives a rise to many other brands indulging in offering fitness programmes. Here’s the list of some of the top competitors of Cult.fit:

BurnAlong
Shyft
Breathe Well-Being
Anytime Fitness
MyFitnessPal
FITTR
PurpleBasil Lifestyle Solutions
EICoach

Cult.fit – Future plans

The company’s acquisition of India’s Gold Gym has given them a wide spectrum to expand their fitness programmes outside India. The company plans to always stick to its three major goals of providing best-in-class health and fitness services, that is – fitness both online and offline, diet, and mental health.

FAQs

Who is the founder of Cult.fit?

Mukesh Bansal and Ankit Nagori are the founders of Cult.fit.

When was Cult.fit founded?

Cult.fit was founded in 2016.

What is the operating revenue of Cult.fit?

The operating revenue of Cult.fit is around INR 1,493 crore as of 2023.

June 19, 2025

Flipkart Success Story: From Startup Journey to India’s Leading Online Shopping Giant

Company Profile is an initiative by StartupTalky to publish verified information on different startups and organizations.

Don’t you think online buying and selling have become an essential part of our lives? It was youth and adults who initially relied on the Internet to buy products at affordable prices with amazing return policies and guarantees; it was a trend back then.

Nowadays, eCommerce websites have made online shopping a common practice for people of all ages. Flipkart is India’s most popular e-commerce website, known for its innovative business model.

Flipkart is the leading Indian eCommerce website founded by Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal in 2007. The company is headquartered in Bengaluru, India. This Indian eCommerce store has brought a revolution to the Indian e-retail industry.

Let’s now delve into the success story of Flipkart and learn about Flipkart’s founders, its history, startup story, subsidiaries, owners, business and revenue model, and more.

Flipkart Information

Company Name	Flipkart
Headquarter	Bengaluru, India
Sector	E-commerce
Founders	Sachin Bansal, Binny Bansal
Founded	2007
Parent Organization	Walmart
Website	flipkart.com

About Flipkart
Flipkart – Industry and Target Market Size
Flipkart – Founders and Team
Flipkart – Startup Story
Flipkart – Mission
Flipkart – Name, Tagline, and Logo
Flipkart – Parent Organization
Flipkart – Shareholding
Flipkart – Subsidiaries
Flipkart – Business Model and Revenue Model
Flipkart – Partnerships
Flipkart – Funding and Investors
Flipkart – ESOPs
Flipkart – Growth and Revenues
Flipkart – Financials
Flipkart – Product And Service
Flipkart – Investments
Flipkart – Mergers and Acquisitions
Flipkart – Challenges
Flipkart – Competitors
Flipkart – Future Plans

About Flipkart

Flipkart, an Indian eCommerce company founded in 2007 by Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal, has become a household name. Based in Bengaluru, India, Flipkart has been selling a vast range of products online, similar to Amazon. Flipkart shopping offers a wide variety of products, making it a popular choice for online shoppers in India.

Its phenomenal marketing strategies have attracted the attention of retail giant Walmart, which acquired Flipkart for $16 billion in May 2018.

Along with the imposing worldwide market share that Walmart has in the retail industry, the Sam Walton-founded company is also famous for its inspirational business model.

In the initial years, Flipkart focused on selling books, but today the catalog covers categories like electronics, fashion, home essentials, groceries, and lifestyle products. More than 1 billion people have shopped on Flipkart, making the e-commerce giant the leading e-retailer in India.

Flipkart also has subsidiaries like Myntra, eBay, Ekart, Jeeves, and more. Flipkart also launched Shopsy on July 2, 2021, which is designed to behave like an app that will encourage the nation’s entrepreneurs to reap all the benefits of digital eCommerce that come their way without investments.

Today, Flipkart has over 100 million registered users, 100+ thousand sellers, and 21+ state-of-the-art warehouses.

It also boasts about 10+ million daily page visits and over 8 million shipments per month. Flipkart currently works as a subsidiary of Walmart.

The current CEO of Flipkart Group is Kalyan Krishnamurthy.

Flipkart acquired a 100% stake in Walmart India, which operates the Best Price cash-and-carry business.

Thus, we are launching Flipkart Wholesale. This step helped Flipkart strengthen its hold on the grocery, food, and fashion businesses, which are stated to be highly competitive in this dynamic environment.

The launch of Flipkart Wholesale will be initiated in August, thus piloting the services for the grocery and fashion categories.

Flipkart Wholesale Logo

“The Best Price operation will continue to run as it is. In terms of legal structure, currently, Walmart India is a separate entity within the Flipkart Group”, Said Sameer Aggarwal, CEO, Walmart India.

The role of Kirana Stores and MSMEs in India’s retail ecosystem is vital. With a focus on meeting their needs, Flipkart Wholesale is all set to widen opportunities at a significant value. By leveraging their expertise and knowledge, the team is breaking new norms and helping Indian businesses grow and succeed.

Earlier in 2018, Flipkart was acquired by Walmart for $16 billion, which was the largest online e-commerce acquisition in the world to the present. Flipkart launched its wholesale unit with a presence in the fashion and grocery categories.

“With the launch of Flipkart Wholesale, we will now extend our capabilities across technology, logistics and finance to small businesses across the country,” Said Kalyan Krishnamurthy, CEO, Flipkart Group

At present, Flipkart Wholesale will be headed by Adarsh Menon (a veteran at Flipkart). In order to ensure smooth functioning and transition, Sameer Aggarwal (CEO, Walmart India) will remain with the company for a while.

Flipkart – Industry and Target Market Size

Flipkart uses an undifferentiated targeting strategy since people of all demographies purchase items online, which are available to everyone where delivery is possible.

National and multinational e-commerce companies are giving neck-to-neck competition to each other, due to which their positioning is very important. Flipkart has positioned itself as a trustworthy and customer-friendly eCommerce brand.

The online retail industry market is of a size of around $60 billion. It is expected to reach $200 billion by the year 2026. The Indian and global e-commerce industry is on the verge of exponential growth, and the introduction of high-speed internet has fueled the process across the nation.

Before the pandemic, India was one of the most attractive eCommerce markets globally, expected to deliver a 30% CAGR over a six-year time horizon, according to a report by RedSeer Consulting.

Flipkart – Founders and Team

Flipkart was founded by Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal in May 2007.

Flipkart Founder	Education
Sachin Bansal	Bachelor of Engineering in Computer Science and Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IIT Delhi)
Binny Bansal	Bachelor of Engineering in Computer Science and Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IIT Delhi)

Kalyan Krishnamurthy is the CEO of the company. He was appointed CEO of the company in January 2017, when he replaced Binny Bansal.

Sachin Bansal

Sachin Bansal is the co-founder of Flipkart. After obtaining a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science from IIT Delhi, Sachin started with Amazon as a Senior Software Engineer after a brief stint at Techspan. He then left his job at Amazon and co-founded Flipkart.

At Flipkart, he managed the positions of CEO and Chairman before resigning in 2018 following Walmart’s major acquisition of Flipkart, where the American multinational company acquired around 77% stakes in the Indian e-commerce company. Bansal eventually started Navi with Ankit Agarwal and is currently serving as Chairman at Navi. The net worth of Sachin Bansal is currently at $1.20 billion, as of the Forbes report of 2025.

Binny Bansal

An IIT Delhi alumnus, much like Sachin, Binny completed his Bachelor’s in Computer Science and Engineering, after which he co-founded Flipkart. Binny Bansal was the COO and CEO of Flipkart.

Sachin was the CEO since the inception of Flipkart,, and in 2016, Binny Bansal took over as CEO while Sachin Bansal became the executive chairman of the company. However, Binny also resigned from Flipkart in 2018 due to personal misconduct allegations against Flipkart.

Bansal also served as the group CEO of the organization. Moreover, Binny has also served as a board advisor at Acko, Blackbuck, GreyOrange, Udhyam Learning, and more such companies. Binny Bansal is currently serving as a co-founder and executive chairman at xto10x Technologies.

The net worth of Binny Bansal is also $1.4 billion, as reported by Forbes in 2025. Apart from serving in the SaaS consulting startup, Bansal was also on the Board of Directors of PhonePe.

Binny Bansal sold stakes worth $264 million (nearly Rs 2,060 crore) to Tencent, as per official documents checked out on June 13, 2022.

The documents revealed that the transaction had already been done in October 2021 and was shared only at the start of FY22.

At the end of the transaction, Binny Bansal was holding around 1.84% of the stakes, while Tencent was currently holding 0.72%. The Chinese tech giant is holding around 4-5% stakes in Flipkart Pte, which is the Singapore-based parent of Flipkart.

Binny Bansal has a history of selling stakes. He had previously sold stakes worth $90 million in 2019 to Tiger Global across two deals. Bansal also sold shares worth $76 million to FIT Holdings SARL, the Luxembourg entity that is owned and operated by Walmart, in the same year.

Flipkart’s SVP, Growth and Monetisation, and Shopsy Head, Prakash Sikaria, are exiting after the festival sales, as per reports dated July 22, 2022. Sikaria also headed other verticals like recommerce and travel, which will now be taken over by Adarsh Menon.

On the other hand, Flipkart Wholesale, the B2B e-commerce business of Flipkart, will be headed by Koteshwar LN. However, Flipkart has yet to decide who to appoint for the other functions that Sikaria handled.

Flipkart currently operates with an employee strength of 33,000+ employees.

Flipkart – Startup Story

The IIT-Delhi graduates, Sachin and Binny Bansal, were employees at Amazon when they began thinking of building their own company in India.

Though Sachin was an employee working with Amazon for some time, Binny was referred to join the company by Sachin, and the former appeared to be quite bored with the company.

It was like a “12 to 3 job or something” for Binny Bansal, who decided to quit the company as soon as Sachin and he emerged with the idea of establishing an eCommerce business.

Sachin and Binny started Flipkart as an online book store from a two-bedroom apartment in Bengaluru’s Koramangala area. They initially started with funding of Rs 4,00,000 from their own pockets.

When Sachin and Binny received a positive response and success in selling books back in 2007, they planned to expand to electronics as well, and by 2014, the company had become one of India’s most valuable startups by reaching a valuation of $1 billion.

When the duo founded Flipkart, online shopping in India was even a distant dream for them, but the hard work and consistency paid off and made Sachin and Binny into widely successful entrepreneurs, which placed them quite ahead in the list of the successful Indian entrepreneurs.

Flipkart – Mission

Flipkart’s mission is to provide a delightful customer experience by being the partner of choice for Indians and to create India’s most customer-centric company.

Flipkart – Name, Tagline, and Logo

Flipkart Logo

The founders of Flipkart, Sachin Bansal, and Binny Bansal, wanted a name that could speak beyond books.

Furthermore, they also wanted to name their company in such a way that it would be suitable for a wide range of product categories that could also be expanded in the future.

Flipkart means ‘flipping things into a shopping cart’.

The logo of Flipkart was changed twice. There have been several taglines that the company has gone through on different occasions. Some of the popular taglines are:

Ab Har Wish Hogi Poori
Abhi Nahi To Kabhi Nahi
If it’s trendy, it is on Flipkart
Be Trendy, Always
Itne mein, Itnaaaa Milega
Shopping ka naya address
Ab Mehengaayi Giregi

Flipkart – Parent Organization

In August 2018, U.S.-based retail chain Walmart acquired a 77% controlling stake in Flipkart for $16 billion, valuing the company at $20 billion.

With this acquisition, Walmart claimed that the omnichannel retail sector has a huge potential for future growth.

Speaking at Retail India Summit and Expo, Walmart India President and CEO Krish Iyer claimed that

“$16 billion deal to acquire Flipkart has attracted foreign and domestic investors in country’s retail and omni-channel space. The recent investment in Flipkart shows Walmart is committed to the country. We do see a great value in terms of an omnichannel play in the whole process”

Owing to the demonetization, he said that it played a crucial role in the growth of the retail sector by structuring the economy along with the implementation of the GST.

These stakes were further increased to 81.3% towards the end of the same year. Soon after the acquisition, one of the founders of Flipkart, Sachin Bansal, left the company.

This year, Walmart invested $3.5 billion to boost its ownership of Flipkart to 80.5%. Notably, some of Flipkart’s early investors, such as Tiger Global and Accel, divested their stakes by selling them to Walmart.

Walmart Inc. is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets, discount department stores, and grocery stores.

Flipkart – Shareholding

Flipkart’s shareholding pattern as of September 2024, sourced from Tracxn:

Shareholders	Percentage
Walmart	80.8%
Tencent	5.9%
CPP Investments	2.2%
SoftBank Vision Fund	1.4%
Qatar Investment Authority	0.9%
GIC	0.3%
Appaloosa Management	<0.1%
UBS	0.1%
Waverly	1.4%
Microsoft	1.2%
Gamvest	0.9%
WCH	0.1%
Pantai Remis Investment	0.1%
ESOP Management and Trust	<0.1%
Jadoff SPV 5	<0.1%
ESOP Pool	4.5%

Flipkart – Subsidiaries

The subsidiaries of Flipkart are Myntra, Mallers, eBay, Ekart, Jeeves, Mech Mocha, Upstream Commerce, Ugenie, DSYN Technologies, AdIQuity Technologies, Jabong, ClearTrip, Shopsy, Yaantra, Liv.Ai, F1 Info Solutions and Services, Fx Mart, Appiterate, ngpay, Mime360, WeRead, Chakpak, and Sasta Sundar.

Company	Acquisition/Launch Date
Yaantra	Jan 2022
Sasta Sundar	Nov 2021
Shopsy	July 2021
ClearTrip	Apr 2021
Mech Mocha	Nov 2020
Upstream Commerce	Sep 2018
Liv.ai	Aug 2018
F1 Info Solutions & Services	Sept 2017
eBay India	Apr 2017
PhonePe	Apr 2016
Jabong	July 2016
Fx Mart	Sep 2015
Ekart	Sep 2015
Appiterate	Apr 2015
DSYN Technologies	Apr 2015
AdIQuity	Mar 2015
Jeeves	2014
ngpay	Sep 2014
Myntra	May 2014
LetsBuy.com	Feb 2012
ChakPak Digital Catalogue	Nov 2011
Mime360	Oct 2011
Mallers	Oct 2011
WeRead	Dec 2010
Ugenie	Apr 2010

In 2016, Flipkart Group acquired PhonePe. However, in December 2022, Walmart-owned Flipkart and PhonePe declared a full ownership separation, with Flipkart no longer holding any stake in the payments firm PhonePe.

Flipkart – Business Model and Revenue Model

Flipkart works on a B2C business model i.e., a business-to-consumer model. The company initially began with a direct-consumer model, wherein it sold books and some other products.

Today, it has become a marketplace with a huge catalog of products—right from FMCG to electronics and books.

Flipkart claims it has over 80 categories and over a million sellers on board from all across India.

It is an omni-channel service provider that leveraged the same model after the Walmart acquisition of Flipkart. The company earns almost all of its operating revenues from the sale of goods. Flipkart seller login allows vendors to manage their products, track sales, and update listings on the Flipkart marketplace through their seller account.

At Recode’s Code Commerce conference, Binny Bansal, who co-founded Flipkart along with Sachin Bansal, said:

“Sometime in the future, especially with some categories, omnichannel would make a ton of sense. It is definitely something which would be there in the future.

Flipkart – Partnerships

Flipkart has seen a wide range of partnerships throughout the years it has been active. Some of the most prominent of its partnerships are:

Adani Group

The Indian eCommerce marketplace announced a strategic and commercial partnership with the Adani Group on April 12, 2021, to enhance its supply chain and logistics infrastructure.

IIM Sambalpur

The eCommerce major partnered with the Indian Institute of Management, Sambalpur in August 2021, with the aim of supporting and promoting small businesses.

Urbanic

Flipkart partnered with Urbanic on September 8, 2021, to target young consumers across India.

Hopscotch

Flipkart started collaborating with the leading Indian kids’ fashion brand, Hopscotch on November 25, 2021, to strengthen its kids’ fashion segment.

Pocket FM

The popular audio streaming service, Pocket FM, has partnered with Flipkart on July 26, 2022, which will be a tie-up for its distribution via the famous e-commerce marketplace.

Flipkart – Funding and Investors

Flipkart shopping has raised $15.3 billion in funding in 29 rounds.

Below are some of the funding details:

Date	Stage	Amount	Investors
May 24, 2024	Corporate Round	$350 million	Google
Jul 31, 2023	Secondary Market	$1.4 billion	Walmart
June 13, 2022	Secondary Market	$264 million	Tencent
January 5, 2021	–	$233 million	Flipkart Pvt. Ltd
July 12, 2021	Private Equity Fund	$3.6 billion	Softbank Vision Fund, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, GIC, Walmart
September 16, 2020	Corporate Round	$62.8 million	Tencent
July 14, 2020	Corporate Round	$1.2 billion	Walmart
December 3, 2019	Corporate Round	$28.4 million	–
September 10, 2019	Corporate Round	$217 million	Flipkart
September 4, 2019	Secondary Market	$14.5 million	–
January 16, 2019	Corporate Equity	$200.8 million	Flipkart
October 25, 2017	Corporate Round	–	eBay
September 18, 2017	Debt Financing	$133.9 million	SoftBank Vision Fund
August 10, 2017	Secondary Market	$1 billion	SoftBank Vision Fund

Flipkart’s valuation exceeded $40 billion in 2022, and it was preparing for its upcoming public listing.

Flipkart – ESOPs

Flipkart Singapore has expanded its ESOP trust. According to the reports dated March 31, 2022, the company has allotted 21,370 equity shares, the total worth of which is reported to be around $4.4 million (Rs 30.71 crore) to the ESOP trust.

The Indian e-commerce giant already boasts of having the largest ESOP pool among startups of Indian origin.

A recent Longhouse Consulting report claims that Flipkart’s ESOP pool is worth around $2.26 billion (Rs 17,000 crore). It is followed by OYO with a $1 billion pool, Zomato with $745 million, and Paytm with a $604 million ESOP pool.

Amidst a significant development, Flipkart has commenced an impressive ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Plan) payout amounting to $700 million in July 2023, benefiting around 19,000 of its current and former employees. This move follows Flipkart’s decision to separate full ownership of PhonePe, the Indian digital payments and financial services company. Defying the trend in the current challenging funding landscape for startups, Flipkart’s generous payout demonstrates its commitment to recognizing and rewarding its workforce while also aiming to retain top talent in a fiercely competitive market.

Flipkart – Growth and Revenues

From its bootstrapped beginnings to the success Flipkart is witnessing today, it proudly talks about its success.

Though the company looked a bit shaky with the arrival of US-based Amazon in the Indian markets, the danger is no longer looming today with the assertion of Kalyan Krishnamurthy as the group CEO and the acquisition of Walmart of Flipkart.

Flipkart India is currently the leading eCommerce site in India.

The Walmart-owned Indian eCommerce company also clocked an impressive 64% market share when last recorded during the festive sales in October 2021.

2Gud RoadMap for Refurbished Products

Flipkart-owned 2Gud for the refurbished market will play a major role in driving budget shoppers to premium products. Although, with its great accreditation for shopping experience refurbished market will gain trust quickly among budget buyers and refurbished sellers.

Moreover, Flipkart will also keep a strict quality check on refurbished items so that the buyers use their products hassle-free.

However, its 10-day easy return policy will be super beneficial for the refurbished shopping market. Initially, 2Gud started the refurbished market with mobiles, laptops, tablets, smartwatches, and accessories and plans to introduce 40+ categories in the giant refurbished market “2Gud”.

2GUD has expanded its category offerings to cater to style-conscious Indians who are looking for value in 2019. Targeted at Tier II and Tier III markets, 2GUD plans to evolve from a refurbished-only platform to a complete customer offering with categories such as affordable fashion, accessories, and home.

As part of a larger strategy to expand the benefits of e-commerce to the next 200 million customers, 2GUD, which is present across 40+ categories, will now expand to 150+ categories. 2GUD is focusing on making the latest trends across fashion, home, decor, kids, and other categories affordable for the Indian consumer.

2GUD predicts that the refurbished goods market, on gaining the trust of users, would go on to become a 20 billion dollar industry in the next half-decade. To be a leader in this segment of e-commerce in India is not an easy task, given the “trust issues” that continue to persist in this part of the pie.

Recently, 2GUD upgraded its m-site, making it available as a mobile app as it looks to cater to a larger set of audiences and shoppers. 2GUD has served close to a million customers from over 3,000 cities across India and has over 1,000 registered sellers.

Officially, eBay.in ended operations on August 14th, 2018. In the meantime, eBay is all set to relaunch its platform with cross-border trade offers exclusively. The Walmart-owned company has enormous growth prospects and has been doing great in its own way.

Flipkart – Big Billion Sale Success

The delivery of around 1 crore shipments within 5 days of the Big Billion Day sale has created a lasting mark on the eCommerce industry. Flipkart has seen a 10X growth from the last festive Big Billion sale. Out of the 1 crore, around 35 lakh deliveries were via Kirana Partners. Flipkart online shopping provides a convenient platform for buying electronics, fashion, home goods, and more from the comfort of your home.

The number of crorepati sellers went up by 1.5 times, and the number of lakhpati sellers rose by 1.7 times.

In the Big Billion Days sale of 2021, over 3.75 lakh sellers joined hands to offer the best products online to their customers via Flipkart. This helped the customers save a whopping Rs 11500 crore during the “biggest Indian sale ever. The platform witnessed around 110 orders placed per second that varied across various products, including electronics, fashion, books, furnishing, etc., in its Big Billion sale of 2020.

Furthermore, the company is also seeing around 100x week-on-week growth on its social commerce model, which helps in assisted shopping and charges commission from advertisements and sellers working through its platform. This is why the company is striving to get a bigger share of the grocery ecosystem in the upcoming months.

Here are some growth highlights of the brand at a glance:

Flipkart’s valuation is $37 million as of May 2024.
Flipkart is a market leader.
It is one of the pioneering ecommerce marketplaces in the country.
Flipkart is known as the highest-valued among the unicorn companies in India.
Flipkart presently boasts of having more than 375K sellers/resellers.
The company is serving 160 million+ users in the country.

Flipkart – Financials

Flipkart has shown consistent revenue growth from FY20 to FY24, crossing INR 70,000 crore in FY24. However, the company continues to report substantial losses, largely due to rising operational expenses.

Particulars	FY24	FY23	FY22	FY21	FY20
Total Revenue	INR 70,844 crore	INR 56,012.8 crore	INR 51,175.7 crore	INR 43,349.1 crore	INR 34,610.1 crore
Expenses	INR 75,038.2 crore	INR 60,858.5 crore	INR 54,580 crore	INR 45,793.9 crore	INR 37,760.4 crore
Profit/Loss	INR -4,194.2 crore	INR -4,845.7 crore	INR -3,413 crore	INR -2,445.6 crore	INR -3,150.3 crore

Flipkart’s revenue grew over INR 14,800 crore from FY23 to FY24, but losses remained high at INR 4,194.2 crore, though slightly reduced compared to FY23. In 2023, Flipkart’s operating revenue was INR 55,824 crore, while its total expenses amounted to INR 60,859 crore, resulting in a loss of INR 4,897 crore. In 2024, operating revenue grew to INR 70,542 crore, and expenses increased to INR 75,038 crore, with a reduced loss of INR 4,248 crore.

Based on data received by business intelligence platform Tofler, Flipkart India recorded a 45% increase in net loss for 2022–2023 to INR 4,890.6 crore in FY23 from INR 3,371.2 crore in FY22. Consolidated sales for the Walmart-owned business in 2022–2023 were INR 56,013 crore, a 9% increase over the prior fiscal year FY22.

Flipkart Revenue Breakdown (FY24–FY23)

Particulars	FY24	FY23
Revenue from Operations	INR 70,541.9 crore	INR 55,823.9 crore
Other Income	INR 302.1 crore	INR 188.9 crore
Total Revenue	INR 70,844 crore	INR 56,012.8 crore

Revenue from operations increased by INR 14,718 crore in FY24, driven by stronger sales. Other income also rose marginally, adding to the overall revenue growth.

Flipkart Expense Breakdown (FY24–FY23)

Particulars	FY24	FY23
Purchases of Stock-in-Trade	–	INR 59,816.6 crore
Employee Benefit Expense	INR 684.4 crore	INR 639.2 crore
Finance Costs	INR 299.8 crore	INR 169.7 crore
Other Expenses	INR 74,054 crore	INR 499.6 crore
Total Expenses	INR 75,038.2 crore	INR 60,858.5 crore

Expenses surged in FY24 mainly due to a sharp rise in “Other Expenses” INR 74,054 crore, overshadowing stable personnel and finance costs.

The company’s reported expenses for the fiscal year 2024 were INR 75,038 crore, up from INR 60,859 crore in FY23. This covered expenses for things like buying trade shares, paying employee benefits, and financing-related fees.

The company started a unique feature of the value proposition by offering 24 x 7 support to the customer. Flipkart charges a certain amount or percentage of commission from the sellers, which varies depending on the type of product and the kind of sales. This may range from 5% to 20%, excluding taxes and discounts.

Flipkart Profit/Loss (FY24–FY23)

Flipkart’s net loss narrowed from INR 4,845.7 crore in FY23 to INR 4,194.2 crore in FY24 despite growing expenses, suggesting better cost absorption with increased revenue.

Quick Summary: Comparative Insights (FY24 vs FY23)

Revenue Growth: INR 14,831 crore increase in total revenue (up 26.5% YoY).
Other Income Growth: Increased from INR 188.9 crore to INR 302.1 crore, a 60% jump.
Net Loss Reduction: Reduced loss by INR 651.5 crore YoY.
Expenses Spike: Expenses grew by INR 14,179.7 crore, largely due to unclassified “Other Expenses”.
Business Implication: Flipkart’s scale-up continues with improved topline and narrowed losses, but sustainability depends on controlling other operating costs.

Flipkart – Product And Service

Flipkart some of the prominent products and services are mentioned below:

Flipkart Minutes

Over the past two months, Flipkart has shortened its delivery times in response to growing consumer demand for quick delivery in non-metropolitan areas and greater competition from quick commerce companies like Blinkit and Zepto.

Furthermore, Flipkart has started offering free same-day delivery of goods in 20 locations across a variety of categories, as per a news report from March 11, 2024.

Flipkart Labs

Flipkart Labs is one of the latest initiatives launched by Flipkart on April 28, 2022, with a view to foraying into the Web3 and Metaverse. Based in Bengaluru, Flipkart Labs aims to build an in-house innovation capability to fuel and shape the future of customer-centric e-commerce in India.

Flipkart Health+ App

Flipkart launched its new Health+ App, which will focus on empowering users with easy access to medicines, healthcare products, and services across India, on April 6, 2022.

Flipkart Launches Spoyl app-in-app fashion Vertical

Flipkart, the renowned e-commerce platform, introduced an app-in-app fashion segment called SPOYL on August 17, 2023, with a specific focus on catering to the preferences of Gen Z consumers. This dedicated vertical within the Flipkart app will showcase an extensive selection of over 40,000 products spanning various categories, including western wear, accessories, and footwear.

Flipkart – Investments

Being a pioneering eCommerce business that is hailed as a fast-growing company, Flipkart has seen numerous investments. Flipkart has made 35 investments, of which 30 are lead investments. The most recent investment was made on April 4, 2023, when Flipkart Marketplace raised $358.2 million.

Here’s a look at the most recent investments by Flipkart:

Company Name	Date of Investment	Amount	Funding Round	Lead Investor
Flipkart Marketplace	April 4, 2023	$358.2 million	Corporate Round	Yes
Flipkart Marketplace	September 19, 2022	$30 million	Corporate Round	Yes
Hyperface	July 13, 2022	$ 9 million	Seed Round	–
Shadowfax	July 11, 2022	$9.75 million	Series E	Yes
FinBox	June 20, 2022	$15 million	Series A	–
G.O.A.T Brand Labs	April 20, 2022	$50 million	Convertible Round	–
Flipkart Marketplace	March 31, 2022	$553 million	Corporate Round	Yes
Flipkart Health	March 31, 2022	$143 million	Corporate Round	Yes
Myntra	March 25, 2022	$116 million	Corporate Round	Yes
Ninjacart	December 12, 2021	$145 million	Series D	Yes
G.O.A.T Brand Labs	July 25, 2021	$16.72 million	Series A	Yes
PhonePe	December 14, 2020	$19.29 million	Corporate round	Yes
Universal Sportsbiz	November 6, 2020	–	Series F	Yes
Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail	October 23, 2020	$192.92 million	Post-IPO Equity	Yes
Ninjacart	October 12, 2020	$30 million	Corporate Round	Yes
Arvind Youth Brands	July 9, 2020	–	Corporate Round	Yes
PhonePe	April 27, 2020	–	Corporate Round	Yes
PhonePe	February 26, 2020	–	Corporate Round	Yes
Ninjacart	December 11, 2019	–	Series C	Yes

Flipkart – Mergers and Acquisitions

Flipkart has acquired 18 companies to date, as of March 2022. ANS Commerce was the latest company that Flipkart acquired in an undisclosed deal on April 19, 2022, in order to strengthen its eCommerce ecosystem.

From having @Flipkart as our seed investor along with Blume to now joining hands to build entertainment at scale for India – it’s been a quite a full circle. Feeling immense gratitude towards all @MechMocha team members, investors, advisors and partners. https://t.co/77bhfReGKN

— Arpita Kapoor (@Arpita_Kapoor) November 3, 2020

Here’s a look at the 11 acquisitions by Flipkart:

Name of the Company Acquired	Date of Acquisition	Deal Value
ANS Commerce	April 19, 2022	–
Yaantra	January 13, 2022	$40 million
Sasta Sundar	November 19, 2021	–
Cleartrip	April 15, 2021	–
Scapic	November 17, 2020	–
Mech Mocha	November 3, 2020	–
Walmart India	July 23, 2020	–
Upstream Commerce	September 9, 2018	–
Liv.ai	August 21, 2018	–
F1 Info Solutions & Services	September 26, 2017	–
eBay India	April 10, 2017	–

Flipkart has exited from three companies:

Myntra
Flipkart
Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail

Flipkart – Challenges

Challenges have always been face-to-face with India’s most popular e-commerce player, but Flipkart has always come out victorious. One recent update has it that Flipkart and its archrival, Amazon, have been involved in alleged cases of competition law violations.

This is why CCI or the Competition Commission of India, raided a few seller offices of both Flipkart and Amazon to probe into the same after the Supreme Court gave its nod for it. The Walmart-owned company as well as that founded by Bezos were linked with multiple incidents of favoring their preferred sellers on their respective platforms.

Sushant Singh T-shirts Sales Controversy

Boycott Flipkart went trending on Twitter on July 26, 2022, after numerous Flipkart users allegedly accused Flipkart of “Cheap marketing”, when they found tees containing the image of Sushant Singh Rajput with a message that read “Depression is like drowning”.

According to these users, who were Sushant fans, these t-shirts with the message indicated that Sushant Singh died by suicide, while this has not been clearly identified. Some others also identified this thing as a “smear campaign” against the late actor.

Flipkart Subsidiary Cleartrip’s Data Breach

Cleartrip, which is owned by Flipkart now, has experienced data breaches. The company confirmed on July 18, 2022, in an email sent to its customers that the information of some of the customers was compromised, but no sensitive information was leaked.

Flipkart-owned Cleartrip has already reached out to proper authorities and would resort to appropriate legal action systematically. The acquisition of Cleartrip was via a distress sale after the startup’s growth plummeted to astonishing levels as the COVID-19 pandemic broke out. The company had earlier thrived another data breach in 2017 when a group called Turtle Squad defaced it for a few minutes.

Flipkart – Competitors

Flipkart India competes primarily with Amazon’s Indian subsidiary and the domestic rival Snapdeal. In FY23, Flipkart showcased resilience among e-commerce leaders, securing a substantial 48% market share and effectively protecting its position.

Flipkart is significantly dominant in the sale of apparel (a position that was bolstered by its acquisitions of Myntra) and was described as being “neck and neck” with Amazon in the sale of electronics and mobile phones.

To list some of Flipkart’s competitors, they would be:

Etsy
Amazon
eBay
Alibaba
Myntra
Paytm
Snapdeal

Flipkart – Future Plans

Currently, both the founders, Sachin and Binny Bansal don’t serve Flipkart anymore, but the brand continues to stand tall despite all the challenges. Flipkart has been one of the most prominent faces in the Indian startup ecosystem.

Flipkart has never been afraid of taking risks, and that is one of its key advantages. From books to electronics and household products and whatnot, it has evolved a lot in the past years and will continue to expand irrespective of the change in shareholders or competitors.

Walmart’s major investment in Flipkart means better service and market presence for the latter. Advancements in eCommerce, a wider range of products, better products, and upgraded integrations with small businesses are just a small chunk of the innovations we can expect from Flipkart in the coming time.

FAQs

What is Flipkart?

Flipkart is an Indian e-commerce company that sells a wide range of products, including electronics, fashion, and home goods. It was founded in 2007 and is one of the largest online retailers in India.

Is Flipkart the first online shopping company in India?

No, Flipkart is one of the first online shopping companies in India but not the first online shopping company in India. It was Fabmart.com, founded in 1999 by K Vaitheeswaran, which was India’s first online shopping company.

Who is the owner of Flipkart?

Walmart, an American multinational retail corporation is the Parent Organisation of Flipkart. Flipkart was founded by Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal in 2007.

Who are Flipkart founders?

Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal founded Flipkart in May 2007 in Bengaluru, India.

What is the Flipkart CEO’s name?

The name of the Flipkart CEO is Kalyan Krishnamurthy.

What is the origin country of Flipkart?

Flipkart was founded by Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal and is headquartered in Bengaluru, India.

How did Flipkart start?

Flipkart was started in 2007 by Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal, two former Amazon employees, in Bengaluru, India. It began as an online bookstore, operating from a small apartment. Their focus on fast delivery and customer service helped them quickly gain popularity, eventually expanding into electronics, fashion, and more to become one of India’s biggest e-commerce platforms.

When was Flipkart founded?

Flipkart was founded in October 2007 by Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal.

Is Flipkart a product based company?

Though Flipkart was earlier solely a product-based company, it is now operating as a product and services-based company.

What is the tagline of Flipkart?

“Ab Har Wish Hogi Poori” is the tagline of Flipkart.

Where is the headquarters of Flipkart located?

The Flipkart headquarters is in Bangalore, India.

What are Flipkart products and services?

Flipkart was earlier solely an eCommerce operator that offered a wide array of products from home essentials to electronic gadgets to groceries and more. However, with the latest introduction of the cleaning and repairing services, Flipkart has already started its foray into the at-home services segment, to rival Urban Company.

Who is Flipkart owner name and country it originated from?

Flipkart is owned mainly by Walmart Inc., a U.S.-based retail giant that acquired a majority stake in 2018. The company is officially registered in Singapore but operates primarily from India, where it was originally founded.

Who are the Flipkart competitors in India?

Flipkart competitors in India include:

Amazon
eBay
Snapdeal
Paytm
Tata Neu
Etsy

June 19, 2025

FirstCry: How It Became a Babycare Giant

Company Profile is an initiative by StartupTalky to publish verified information on different startups and organizations.

In the 90’s kids could have never imagined the appeal of online shopping. Nor did anyone fathom that e-commerce would transform the concept of purchasing. Taking the online shopping spree one step further, Supam Maheshwari and Amitava Saha started FirstCry in 2010 to provide baby care products to the masses.

Read more about FirstCry, how it was started, owners and teams, growth, history, business model, challenges faced, funding, and more.

FirstCry Company Details

Startup Name	FirstCry
Headquarters	Pune, India
Sector	Online Baby Products
Founders	Amitava Saha and Supam Maheshwari
Founded	September 2010
Parent Organization	BrainBees Solutions Pvt Ltd.
Valuation	$2.7 billion
Website	firstcry.com

About FirstCry
FirstCry – Founders/Owners and Team
FirstCry – Startup Story
FirstCry – Name, Tagline and Logo
FirstCry – Business Model and Revenue Model
FirstCry – Shareholding
FirstCry – Funding and Investors
FirstCry – Growth and Revenue
Firstcry – Financials
FirstCry – Product and Service
FirstCry – IPO
FirstCry – Acquisitions
FirstCry – Startup Challenges
FirstCry – Competitors
Firstcry – Future Plans

About FirstCry

FirstCry is an online-cum-offline brand providing a wide range of products for babies, kids, and moms. The startup was born out of a desire to solve the problem of millions of parents in India not having access to the best brands and baby care products for their offspring. The product categories at firstcry.com comprise diapering, feeding and nursing, skin and health care, toys, clothes, footwear, fashion accessories, and much more.

Firstcry.com has a product inventory of more than 90,000 items from around 1,200 international and Indian brands as of 2016. Mattel, Ben10, Pigeon, Funskool, Hotwheels, Nuby, Farlin, Medela, Pampers, Disney, Barbie, Gerber, and Fisher-Price are some of them.

The company provides the best products and brands at reasonable prices, complemented by a quality online shopping experience, fast and reliable delivery service, and prompt customer care.

FirstCry – Founders/Owners and Team

FirstCry was founded by Supam Maheshwari and Amitava Saha.

Supam Maheshwari

The CEO and co-founder of FirstCry, Supam Maheshwari is an IIM Ahmedabad graduate and an engineer from Delhi College of Engineering. He is a first-generation entrepreneur and has also co-founded XpressBees, one of the largest logistics companies in India. Before launching FirstCry, Supam was the co-founder and CEO of Brainvisa Technologies, one of the largest e-learning ventures in India.

Amitava Saha

Amitava Saha, the COO and co-founder of FirstCry, has a master’s degree from IIM Lucknow and a BTech from IIT Varanasi. Saha also worked with Supam for the launch of XpressBees. Post XpressBees, they collaborated again for another exciting venture—FirstCry. It is India’s finest online platform for baby care products.

FirstCry – Startup Story/History

The seeds were sown in 2010 when the options for buying baby care and kids’ products online were extremely limited in India. Supam, the co-founder and owner of FirstCry, would buy things for his son from the countries he visited for business trips. The situation made him realize the huge opportunity for an online platform in the Indian market that would give Indian parents access to the best baby care brands from across the globe. This is how Supam Maheshwari and Amitava Saha started FirstCry.

Startup Launch

FirstCry initially followed an inventory-based model wherein the venture was just shipping products across the country from its warehouses in Pune, Delhi, Bangalore, and Kolkata. After a few years, FirstCry started adding retailers to its platform and presented an opportunity for local retailers to sell their products on its website.

The company also has two private labels called BabyHug, which is into apparel for babies and kids, and CuteWalk, a footwear brand. FirstCry is now one of the largest online shopping platforms for kids and has over 350 franchised brick-and-mortar shops in more than 125 Indian cities, as per a news report from July 2023.

FirstCry – Name, Tagline and Logo

The name “FirstCry” was cleverly chosen and greatly added to its marketing strategies. The name signifies the first cry of a baby and the company significantly provides all of the baby essentials and other accessories for kids and babies.

FirstCry Logo

“Asia’s favourite baby and kid’s shopping platform”, says the FirstCry tagline.

FirstCry – Business Model and Revenue Model

FirstCry works on an integrated hybrid business model that includes online platforms and offline stores. Apart from its massive online presence, the company also has over 1000 stores including over 350 franchise stores across India as of November 2024. FirstCry runs a unique program through which it reaches over 70,000 parents each month by giving out a ‘FirstCry Box’ as per the news report of the year 2022.

This program gives free gift boxes to new parents across 6,000 hospitals in the country as a token of congratulations on the birth of their child. The box contains necessities like diapers, baby lotion, baby oil, etc. from leading brands such as Mamy Poko and Libero. FirstCry has reached out to millions of parents across India through this initiative to date.

FirstCry – Shareholding

Patterns of FirstCry shareholding as of November 2024, retrieved from resource tracxn:

FirstCry Shareholding	Percentage
Founder	12.2%
Fund	57.9%
Enterprise	15.6%
Angel	0.01%
Other People	1.1%
ESOP	13.1%

FirstCry – Funding and Investors

FirstCry has raised a total of $793.7 million in funding over 11 rounds.

Here is a list of all the funding rounds witnessed by FirstCry:

Date	Stage	Amount	Investor
Aug 21, 2023	Secondary Market	Rs 435 crore	–
Mar 30, 2021	Secondary Market	$300 million	TPG, ChrysCapital and Premji Invest
Mar 30, 2021	Venture Round	$13 million	Premji Invest
Feb 7, 2020	Series E	$150 million	SoftBank Vision Fund
Jan 22, 2019	Series E	$149.4 million	SoftBank Vision Fund
Oct 17, 2016	Series D	$34 million	Vertex Ventures
Feb 6, 2016	Series D	$26 million	Valiant Capital Partners
Feb 2, 2015	Series D	$36 million	Valiant Capital Partners
Jan 21, 2014	Series C	$15 million	Vertex Ventures
Feb 13, 2012	Series B	$14 million	Chiratae Ventures, IDG Capital

FirstCry – Growth and Revenue

FirstCry claims to be Asia’s largest online store for baby and kids’ products.

Let’s look at some of the growth highlights of FirstCry:

FirstCry has 2,00,000+ unique products and hosts 5,800+ brands as of 2024.
It has around 1000+ offline stores across India as of January 2024.
‘FirstCry parenting’ is India’s largest community of parents. It sees around 15 million active users every month and the overall engagement on the platform stands at 450 Million+ as of 2024.
The FirstCry app has more than 10 million downloads on Google Play Store and App Store.
Mr. Amitabh Bachchan is the brand ambassador of FirstCry.
FirstCry is serving 533 cities as of 2024.

Firstcry – Financials

FirstCry has experienced significant revenue growth over the years, especially from FY22 to FY24. However, it continues to operate at a loss, with notable investments in scaling operations and infrastructure.

Firstcry Financials (FY24 – FY20)

Particulars	FY24	FY23	FY22	FY21	FY20
Revenue	INR 6,575.1 crore	INR 5,731.3 crore	INR 2,516.9 crore	INR 1,740.1 crore	INR 896.7 crore
Expenses	INR 6,896.6 crore	INR 6,315.7 crore	INR 2,568.1 crore	INR 1,645.3 crore	INR 1,088.2 crore
Profit/Loss for the year	INR -321.5 crore	INR -486.1 crore	INR -78.7 crore	INR -212.4 crore	INR -190.9 crore

FY24, the company’s operating revenue significantly increased to INR 6481 crore as opposed to the lower INR 5632.5 crore in FY23. However, total expenses also rose to INR 6897 crore in FY24, which is higher than the previous INR 6315 crore in FY23. Thanks to steady growth and managed expenses FirstCry reduced its losses by 34% in FY24, bringing them down to INR 321 crore from INR 486 crore in FY23.

BrainBees Solutions, the parent company of FirstCry, reported a 47.4% reduction in quarterly losses to INR 62.8 crore in Q2 FY25, driven by 26.4% growth in revenue, which reached INR 1,936 crore. Since its stock market debut at INR 446, the company’s share price has climbed to INR 519.8, with a market capitalization of INR 26,987 crore.

FirstCry Revenue:

FirstCry saw a 15% increase in total revenue in FY24 over FY23, driven by stronger operating revenue. Other income saw a slight decline.

Revenue Type	FY24	FY23
Revenue from operations	INR 6,480.9 crore	INR 5,632.5 crore
Other income	INR 94.2 crore	INR 98.7 crore
Total Revenue	INR 6,575.1 crore	INR 5,731.3 crore

Operating revenue increased by around INR 848 crore, while other income dropped marginally by INR 4.5 crore.

FirstCry Expenses:

Expenses continued to rise in FY24, up by over INR 580 crore compared to FY23, primarily due to increased purchases and other operating expenses.

Expense Type	FY24	FY23
Cost of materials consumed	INR 557.5 crore	INR 479.5 crore
Purchases of stock-in-trade	INR 3,889.9 crore	INR 3,117.2 crore
Employee benefit expense	INR 686.5 crore	INR 769.8 crore
Other expenses	INR 1,560.7 crore	INR 1,244.7 crore
Total Expenses	INR 6,896.6 crore	INR 6,315.7 crore

Total expenses increased by INR 580.9 crore YoY, led by higher stock purchases and other operational expenses, despite a dip in employee costs.

FirstCry Profit/Loss:

Losses narrowed in FY24 compared to FY23, but the company still reported a significant net loss.

Metric	FY24	FY23
Gross Profit	INR 2,313.5 crore	INR 2,035.3 crore
Operating Profit	INR -321.5 crore	INR -486.1 crore
Net Profit/Loss	INR -321.5 crore	INR -486.1 crore

Net loss decreased by INR 164.6 crore YoY, indicating some improvements in operational efficiency.

EBITDA

FirstCry FY21-FY24	FY21	FY22	FY23	FY24
EBITDA Margin	9.47%	3.89%	-3.82%	2.51%
Expense/Rs of Op Revenue	INR 1.03	INR 1.07	INR 1.12	INR 1.06
ROCE	2.57%	-0.25%	-8.67%	-3.47%

Comparative Summary (FY24 vs FY23):

Revenue Growth: +15% increase (INR 6,575.1 crore vs INR 5,731.3 crore).
Expense Growth: +9% rise in total expenses (INR 6,896.6 crore vs INR 6,315.7 crore).
Loss Reduction: Loss narrowed by INR 164.6 crore YoY.

FirstCry – Product and Service

ARIAS Kids

Lara Dutta and FirstCry collaborated to introduce ARIAS, launched on August 13, 2023, an eco-fashion clothing and accessory brand whose mission is to create fashionable, comfortable, and high-end products by translating current trends into fashion.

FirstCry – IPO

Brainbees Solutions Ltd, which operates FirstCry, had a strong stock market debut on August 13 2024, with shares listing at a 40% premium. The stock started trading at INR 651 on the NSE, compared to the IPO price of INR 465, and closed at INR 675.70, up 3.8%.

The Rs 4,193.7 crore IPO included a fresh issue of 3.6 crore shares worth INR 1,666 crore and an offer for sale of 5.4 crore shares worth INR 2,527.7 crore. The price range was set between INR 440 and INR 465 per share.

The IPO was open from August 6 to August 8 and was oversubscribed 12.2 times. Retail investors subscribed 2.3 times, Qualified Institutional Buyers (QIBs) subscribed 19.3 times, and Non-Institutional Investors (NIIs) subscribed 4.7 times.

The company also approved the reclassification and sub-division of equity and preference shares. Besides, it has also amended its ESOP plans.

Mahindra Retail, owned 10.48% of FirstCry, while Mahindra Engineering and Chemical Products, another Mahindra subsidiary, held 3.11% preference shares in the startup in 2021. Being motivated to sell its stakes in FirstCry parent, BrainBees, Mahindra Retail has got the board approval to sell up to 2% of its stakes in BrainBees, via an Offer For Sale (OFS), which will be a part of the sale of its shares during the IPO of the company. Mahindra initially acquired BabyOye and merged it with FirstCry, and it was then that the company picked up a minority stake in BrainBees.

FirstCry – Acquisitions

FirstCry has acquired two organizations. The recent acquisition was Oi Playschool on November 28, 2019. FirstCry Oi Playschool is a chain of premium playschools focusing on safety, security, and hygiene.

In 2016, BrainBees Solution-owned FirstCry acquired Mumbai-based BabyOye for $54 million. BabyOye is an e-commerce portal dealing in pregnancy, infant care, and mother care products in India.

Acquired	Date	Amount
Babyoye	October 2016	$54 million
Oi Playschool	November 2019	–

FirstCry – Startup Challenges

The baby care segment in India is huge and promising. But the challenge lies in the fact that the market is really unorganized.
Like any other business, staying relevant for consumers is imperative. Hence, the FirstCry team has to work on its toes to launch innovative and exciting strategies for its consumers.

FirstCry – Competitors

The company has a huge market presence. FirstCry and baby care have become synonymous to some extent. Thus, FirstCry does not have direct competition but online portals like Myntra and Amazon may pose some resistance to the company’s online base. FirstCry’s offline stores may face competition from local vendors and shopkeepers.

Firstcry – Future Plans

FirstCry plans to grow by opening 350 new stores in India over the next three years, focusing on both FirstCry and BabyHug outlets. Internationally, the company is expanding into Saudi Arabia with plans for 12 stores and a large warehouse. They also aim to invest in improving their online platform and spend more on marketing to boost sales. These steps are part of their goal to become a global leader in baby and kids’ products.

FAQs

Who is the Brand Ambassador of FirstCry?

Amitabh Bachchan is the brand ambassador of FirstCry.

How much is the operating revenue of FirstCry?

The total operating revenue of FirstCry has been recorded at INR 6481 crore in FY24.

Who is FirstCry owner or who started FirstCry?

Supam Maheshwari and Amitava Saha are Firstcry founders.

Who are the Top Competitors of FirstCry?

Kraftly, Snapdeal, BeiBei, Myntra, and Amazon are some prominent competitors of FirstCry.

Is FirstCry an Indian company?

FirstCry is an Indian online store for baby products. It was launched in the year 2010.

Which is FirstCry parent company?

Brainbees Solutions is the parent company of FirstCry.

Who owns Firstcry?

FirstCry is owned by BrainBees Solutions and was founded in 2010 by Supam Maheshwari, Amitava Saha, Sanket Hattimattur, and Prashant Jadhav. Supam Maheshwari is also the CEO. Major investors include SoftBank Vision Fund (largest stakeholder), Mahindra & Mahindra, and Premji Invest.

June 18, 2025

Nykaa Success Story: How the Beauty Giant Rose to Fame in India

The demand for beauty goods, especially from teens and young people, is driving the cosmetics industry’s extraordinary rise. The industry’s fast digitalization has accelerated its growth even more.

Nykaa has become a major force in this thriving market, providing physical and virtual customers with a wide selection of beauty, fashion, and wellness products. In addition to its current standing, Nykaa’s deliberate foray into the women’s and men’s innerwear markets with Nykd and GLOOT signifies its goal to leave a lasting impression in the personal care industry.

Nykaa is positioned for even greater success in the rapidly changing cosmetics industry because of the intersection of consumer trends and digital innovation. Nykaa’s journey has been impressive, growing from an online beauty store into a big brand with strong sales and higher profits.

Read the success story of Nykaa, Founders and Team, Nykaa history, Funding and Investors, Marketing Strategy, Business Model, Revenue Model, Growth, Acquisitions, Future Plans, and more.

Nykaa Company Details

Company Name	Nykaa
Headquarters	Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Sector	Cosmetics, Beauty, Personal Care
Founder	Falguni Nayar
Founded	2012
Website	nykaa.com

About Nykaa
Nykaa – Industry
Nykaa – Founder and Team
Nykaa Startup Story | How Did Nykaa Start?
Nykaa – Mission And Vision
Nykaa – Name, Tagline and Logo
Nykaa – Business Model
Nykaa – Revenue Model
Nykaa – Challenges Faced
Nykaa – Funding and Investors
Nykaa – Shareholding
Nykaa – Investments
Nykaa – Acquisitions
Nykaa – IPO
Nykaa – Growth
Nykaa – Financials
Nykaa – Marketing Strategy
Nykaa – Advertisements and Social Media Campaigns
Nykaa – Awards and Achievements
Nykaa – Competitors
Nykaa – Future Plans

About Nykaa

Nykaa is a beauty retail company that sells cosmetic commodities and fashion products, including men’s innerwear, both online and offline. The company also offers comprehensive content that includes product reviews, beauty how-to videos, expert-written articles, and even an e-beauty magazine.

The Nykaa helpline is designed to help its customers choose products and services that are tailored to their needs. The products that beauty and wellness brands boast of are sourced directly from the manufacturing brands and are therefore authentic, and are also available for delivery!

Nykaa – Industry

Based on an estimate by Statista, the Beauty & Personal Care market in India is expected to generate US $31.51 billion in revenue by 2024, indicating significant growth ahead. With a projected compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.00% from 2024 to 2028, the market exhibits a positive trend.

The Personal Care area is the largest in this dynamic landscape, with an expected market volume of US $14.31 billion in 2024. This data highlights the strong potential and changing dynamics of the Beauty & Personal Care market in India and comes from Statista’s extensive study analysis.

Nykaa Growth Story

Nykaa – Founder and Team

Nykaa was founded by Falguni Nayar (Co-Founder and CEO).

Falguni Nayar

Falguni Nayar, the Co-Founder and CEO of Nykaa, is a very successful woman with an excellent background in both education and work. At Sydenham College, she pursued a Bachelor of Commerce (B.Com.) degree with an emphasis on accounting and business/management. After that, she continued her education at the esteemed Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, where she graduated with a Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) and a General Finance concentration.

As a Manager at A F Ferguson & Co., Falguni began her professional career by sharing her knowledge. She held important positions at Kotak Securities as the Head of International Business and, subsequently, as the Director and Head of Institutional Equities Business. Her wealth of skills combined with her spirit of entrepreneurship resulted in the establishment of Nykaa in 2012.

Falguni Nayar is a notable example of someone who has achieved amazing success. She is regarded as the richest self-made woman in India, in 2022 her wealth grew by 345% and ranked fifth among the Top 10 Biggest Gainers List. Her remarkable rise in fortune is a testament to her outstanding business sense and market leadership in the cosmetic and beauty sectors.

Nykaa – Startup Story | How Did Nykaa Start?

Nykaa was established in 2012 by Falguni Nayar in reaction to the disparities she saw in the Indian market for cosmetics. Falguni Nayar found the gaps in product availability across the country, motivated by the huge demand for beauty and cosmetic products in India and inspired by the flourishing marketplaces in nations like France and Japan. These differences served as the impetus for the creation of Nykaa, which aims to fulfill unmet customer needs.

With just three workers, Falguni Nayar started Nykaa with little experience in the retail, beauty, or IT sectors. The business completed about 60 orders in its first few days of operation because it was steadfast in its belief that quality should come before quantity. Falguni Nayar said something that summed up her thinking perfectly: “We’d rather sell the proper shade of lipstick at full price than the wrong shade at half price.”

Nykaa was first created as an online platform and then switched to an omnichannel approach. With its headquarters located in Mumbai, Nykaa has gained recognition for offering a wide variety of fashion, intimate apparel, and beauty and cosmetic products. Enhancing women’s extraordinary in all facets of their lives is Nykaa’s objective, which it pursues through its physical stores, app, and online platform.

Nykaa – Mission And Vision

The mission on the company’s website states, “To create a world where our consumers have access to a finely curated, authentic assortment of products and services that delight and elevate the human spirit.”

The vision on the company’s website states, “Bring inspiration and joy to people, everywhere, every day.”

Nykaa – Name, Tagline and Logo

Nykaa Logo

The brand name ‘Nykaa’ is derived from the word ‘nayaka’, which means ‘one in the spotlight‘ in Sanskrit. The Nykaa parent company name is Fsn E-Commerce Ventures Ltd. Nykaa’s tagline is Your Beauty, Our Passion.

Nykaa – Business Model

Nykaa is a D2C consumer products eCommerce brand, that relies on an inventory-based business model. The company purchases its products directly from the manufacturers and keeps them in its designated warehouses located in New Delhi, Mumbai, and Bangalore. These products are sold either on the website of Nykaa or through its 3 offline store formats: Nykaa Luxe, Nykaa On Trend, and Nykaa Kiosks.

The business model of Nykaa is the inventory-led model that helps the company witness high profit margins and has resulted in a profitable business. Besides, the company also ensures the authenticity of products and follows competitive pricing.

Nykaa experienced major growth in 2015, moving from an online-only business model to an omnichannel strategy. This change allowed the business to sell things through physical stores as well as its website and apps. Enhancing consumer reach and engagement has been made possible by the implementation of the omnichannel approach.

Nykaa – Revenue Model

Nykaa earns its revenues through the below-mentioned means.

Sale of products

The brand sells its products and the products of its partnered brands, which is the primary source of revenue for the brand.

The banner advertisements of the company also help it bring in a lot of traffic, many of which turn into sales.

Discount income, income from commissions, and miscellaneous income are some other sources of revenue for the brand.

Nykaa – Challenges Faced

Being a relatively young player in the cosmetics industry, Nykaa has faced several difficulties in this fiercely competitive field. Prominent entities like Ajio and Myntra pose intense competition, contributing to the intricacy of Nykaa’s market dynamics. It becomes essential to create a unique USP in the fashion industry to successfully navigate this fiercely competitive climate.

Nykaa experienced technical difficulties in its early stages, with its website routinely crashing as order volume increased. Overcoming these difficulties, particularly the early system outages at 100 orders showcased Nykaa’s tenacity and dedication to improving its platform for a flawless client experience.

Nykaa has become a dominant force in the Indian beauty e-commerce market, but it is important to recognize that competition is always changing. Rivals like Ajio and Myntra are constantly launching new products, offering tempting promotions, and improving the general consumer experience. Nykaa faces a variety of obstacles as a result of its competitors’ constant evolution, necessitating constant innovation and tactical adjustment.

Every rival, including Nykaa, has established a distinct market niche for itself in the cosmetics industry by catering to a range of client demands and preferences. Although this diversity makes Nykaa’s problems more complex, it also fosters healthy competition that benefits customers. The competition creates a market with lots of options, affordable prices, and better services, which eventually improves the Indian consumer’s entire experience shopping for beauty products.

Nykaa – Funding and Investors

Nykaa has raised a total of $215.4 million in 15 rounds of funding.

Here are the funding details:

Date	Funding Round	Amount	Investors
Nov 22, 2022	Post-IPO Secondary	Rs 336 crore	Aditya Birla Sunlife Mutual Fund
Nov 10, 2022	Post-IPO Equity	–	Aberdeen Standard Investments
Nov 26, 2020	Secondary Market	—	Fidelity
Oct 16, 2020	Secondary Market	—	—
Jun 2, 2020	Series H	Rs 196 million	Sunil Kant Munjal
May 8, 2020	Series F	Rs 67 crore	Steadview Capital
Mar 31, 2020	Series F	Rs 100 crore	Steadview Capital
Dec 1, 2019	Secondary Market	$30 million	Steadview Capital
Apr 1, 2019	Series E	$14 million	TPG Growth
Sep 5, 2018	Secondary Market	Rs 113 crore	Lighthouse Funds

Nykaa – Shareholding

Nykaa’s shareholding pattern as of January 2025, sourced from Tracxn:

Nykaa Shareholding	Percentage
Other Investors	49.5%
Sanjay Nayar	22.2%
Falguni Nayar	21.9%
Indra Singh Banga and Harindarpal Singh Banga	6.4%
Total	100.0%

Nykaa – Investments

On April 22, 2022, Nykaa made a minority investment in Earth Rhythm, acquiring an 18.51% stake in the clean beauty and personal care brand for INR 41.65 crore. This investment evolved into a majority stake acquisition in November 2024, through a combination of primary and secondary transactions.

Nykaa – Acquisitions

Nykaa has acquired the following companies to date. Here are the details for the same:

Date	Company Name	Amount
Nov 27, 2024	Earth Rhythm	–
Aug 4, 2022	Little Black Book	–
Apr 22, 2022	Nudge Wellness	$471.71K
Apr 22, 2022	Kica	$590.94K
Oct 22, 2021	Dot & Key Wellness	–
Apr 12, 2021	Pipa Bella	–
Mar 22, 2019	20Dresses	–

On November 27, 2024, Nykaa acquired a majority stake in Earth Rhythm, following its earlier purchase of an 18.6% stake in 2022, bringing its total acquisitions to 7 companies.

Nykaa – IPO

Nykaa opened its IPO on October 28, 2021, and it was not just an IPO but a real test for an Indian eCommerce player. It attracted 82X subscriptions in 3 days. The bids that Nykaa shares attracted were worth around $32.53 billion.

Nykaa shares are listed at a premium of nearly 80%. On the BSE, the shares of Nykaa were listed at Rs 2,001, at a premium of 77.87% over its issue price of Rs 1,125. On the other hand, the scrip was listed at Rs 2,018 on the NSE at a premium of 79.38%. The Nykaa shares were open for subscription from October 28 to November 1, 2021.

Nykaa – Growth

Some of the growth milestones of Nykaa are:

It has 1900+ brands with 1.2 lakh+ products as of 2024.
Nykaa has occupied over 5 million square feet of warehouse space as of January 2024.
Nykaa had 9.87 million website visits in January 2024.
Nykaa claims to have $21 million users as of November 2023.
It has 187 physical stores across 68 cities as of 2024.
It has 37 fulfillment centers in 15 cities as of 2023.
It has 44 warehouses across India as of 2024.

Nykaa Financials

According to unaudited financial statements from the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), Nykaa’s revenue increased to INR 1,874.74 crore in Q2 FY25, compared to INR 1,507 crore in Q2 FY24. Its revenue from operations grew by 24.4% in the quarter ending September. Its profit also jumped by 66.3%, reaching double digits.

Nykaa has demonstrated consistent growth in revenue over the past five years, with expenses also rising in tandem. The company turned profitable in FY21 and remained so until FY24, though margins have varied.

Particulars	FY24	FY23	FY22	FY21	FY20
Revenue	INR 6,415.6 crore	INR 5,174 crore	INR 3,800.9 crore	INR 2,452.7 crore	INR 1,778.1 crore
Expenses	INR 6,346.5 crore	INR 5,135.6 crore	INR 3,753.6 crore	INR 2,386.5 crore	INR 1,792.6 crore
Profit/Loss for the year	INR 43.7 crore	INR 24.8 crore	INR 41.3 crore	INR 61.6 crore	INR -23.0 crore

In FY23, Nykaa had an operating revenue of INR 5,144 crore with expenses of INR 5,136 crore, leading to a small profit of INR 21 crore. In FY24, the company grew, with operating revenue reaching INR 6,386 crore and expenses at INR 6,346 crore, resulting in a profit of INR 40 crore.

Nykaa’s revenue grew by 24% from INR 5,174 crore in FY23 to INR 6,415.6 crore in FY24. Profit also increased from INR 24.8 crore to INR 43.7 crore.

Nykaa Revenue:

Nykaa’s core operating revenue increased significantly in FY24, maintaining growth momentum from FY23. Other income remained stable.

Revenue Type	FY24	FY23
Revenue from operations	INR 6,385.6 crore	INR 5,143.8 crore
Other income	INR 29.9 crore	INR 30.2 crore
Total Revenue	INR 6,415.6 crore	INR 5,174 crore

Revenue from operations grew from INR 5,143.8 Cr in FY23 to INR 6,385.6 Cr in FY24, showing a healthy rise of around 24%. Other income remained flat.

Nykaa Profit/Loss:

Despite rising costs, Nykaa managed to maintain profitability with improved net profit in FY24 compared to FY23.

Metric	FY24	FY23
Profit before tax	INR 69 crore	INR 38.4 crore
Tax expense	INR 25.3 crore	INR 13.6 crore
Net Profit/Loss	INR 43.7 crore	INR 24.8 crore

Net profit increased by 76% from INR 24.8 Cr in FY23 to INR 43.7 Cr in FY24.

Expenses

Expenses saw a proportional increase alongside revenue, with operational and employee-related costs contributing significantly. Nykaa’s total expenses rise from INR 5136 crore in FY23 to INR 6346 crore in FY24.

Expense Type	FY24	FY23
Cost of materials consumed	INR 65.1 crore	INR 159.4 crore
Purchases of stock-in-trade	INR 3,781.7 crore	INR 2,848 crore
Employee benefit expense	INR 564.9 crore	INR 491.7 crore
Other expenses	INR 1,828.2 crore	INR 1,530.4 crore
Total Expenses	INR 6,346.5 crore	INR 5,135.6 crore

Total expenses rose by nearly INR 1,211 Cr from FY23 to FY24, driven largely by increases in stock purchases and other operational costs.

EBITDA

Nykaa Financials	FY23	FY 24
EBITDA Margin	1%	1.6%
Expense/Rupee of ops revenue	Rs 1	Rs 0.99
ROCE	3%	5%

Quick Comparative Summary (FY24 vs FY23):

Revenue Growth: +24% YoY increase indicating strong sales performance.
Profit Growth: Net profit up 76% YoY, indicating improved margin management.
Expense Surge: Expenses also rose 23%, highlighting cost pressures despite efficiency gains.

Nykaa – Marketing Strategy

Nykaa has stood as one of the most competent players in the beauty and fashion space due to its robust marketing strategy, which is carved with digital marketing at its core. The brand not only focuses on marketing in Tier 1 cities but also pitches all the potential customers from Tier 2, 3, and 4 cities.

Nykaa has 4 social media accounts for the marketing of its in-house brand My Nykaa, Nykaa Beauty for the promotion of its e-commerce platform, Nykaa Fashion to promote its e-commerce apparel store, and Nykaa beauty book, which helps the audience with numerous beauty and makeup tips.

The company has its accounts on diverse social media platforms to extensively promote the brand on social media. The brand is also engaged in posting content created by its influencers via its social media handles. Therefore, influencer marketing plays an important part in the promotion of Nykaa.

YouTube Marketing

Nykaa has a full-fledged YouTube marketing strategy. The brand refrains from focusing on selling its products via its YouTube channel but concentrates more on offering consumable content, including beauty, personal care tips, makeup hacks, and much more, to its target audiences.

Furthermore, the brand also runs YouTube ads from time to time to target its customers. Thus, the YouTube marketing of Nykaa is fueled with quality content that keeps the audience engaged and relevant ads.

Content Marketing

Nykaa relies majorly on its content marketing. The D2C beauty and fashion marketplace offers a variety of consumable content to the audience, which helps them convert into its customers.

Nykaa has its blog, “Nykaa Beauty Book,” which the brand uses to publish blogs on beauty, makeup, and personal care. Furthermore, the brand is also engaged in creating video content like makeup tutorials, DIYs, and more.

Event Marketing

Event marketing is another important marketing strategy that Nykaa leverages to pitch the target customers at the right time and place.

Nykaa has successfully sponsored the popular Femina Miss India event, one of the largest beauty events in India on several occasions, and is still tied to the same event.

Besides, Nykaa also sponsors numerous college fests and events like the Red Brick Summit, 2019 IIM Ahmedabad, and the Mumbai college fest, Mood Indigo.

Nykaa – Advertisements and Social Media Campaigns

Nykaa Campaign

Nykaa’s campaign, which consists of four powerful films, skillfully evokes strong feelings in viewers. Scripted by creative powerhouse The Script Room and directed by acclaimed ad filmmaker Prasoon Pandey, the campaign opens with “Kya Khoob Lagte Ho.”

This ad skillfully weaves a tapestry of sincere emotions to depict the essence of relationships and daily living. The movies have a deep message: genuine praises have a special ability to soften hearts and for feelings to bloom. The campaign, which has its roots in authenticity, embraces the notion that, especially in the eyes of those closest to oneself, one’s true, unguarded self is frequently the most beautiful one.

Nykaa – Awards and Achievements

Nykaa won several awards and achievements. Some of the prominent ones are listed below:

Isidoro Alvarez Lifetime Achievement Medal (Spain, 2023): Falguni Nayar, the creator of Nykaa, was honored with the esteemed Isidoro Alvarez Lifetime Achievement Medal in Spain for her noteworthy contributions to the field.

Falguni Nayar was honored in the FMCG category of the 2023 DNA Women Achievers Awards, which is a testament to her extraordinary accomplishments as the creator of Nykaa Cosmetics.

Asia’s Best Integrated Report Category (Bronze Award) at the 2023 Asia Integrated Reporting Awards (AIRA): At the 8th Asia Integrated Reporting Awards (AIRA), Nykaa was recognized for its proficiency in integrated reporting with a bronze award in Asia’s Best Integrated Report category.

Nykaa – Competitors

The top Nykaa competitors are:

Purplle
Myntra
Tata Cliq

Nykaa – Future Plans

Nykaa, a prominent participant in the eCommerce industry, is proactively molding its future through the expansion of its multichannel reach, to flawlessly merge customers’ online and offline purchasing experiences. As part of its plan for the future, Nykaa is dedicated to improving its physical footprint even with the expenses that come with opening new locations. Nykaa plans to double its store count from 187 to 400 by 2027. The company expects its fashion vertical to grow by 2.5-3X over the next three years.

Nykaa’s commitment to fostering stronger client relationships and offering a variety of channels for customers to access its vast array of health, fashion, and beauty items is exemplified by this progressive approach. Setting lofty objectives, a substantial advancement in its brick-and-mortar expansion strategy the company hopes to build a strong future.

FAQs

Who is the founder of Nykaa?

Falguni Nayar is the founder of Nykaa.

When was Nykaa founded?

Nykaa was founded in 2012.

What is Nykaa?

Nykaa is India’s biggest lifestyle and fashion portal with a collection of cosmetics, skincare, haircare, fragrances, bath and body, personal care, and wellness products for both women and men.

How Nykaa started?

Nykaa was started in 2012 by Falguni Nayar, a former investment banker, with the aim of creating a beauty and wellness e-commerce platform in India. It began as an online store and later expanded into offline retail and private label products, becoming a leading beauty destination.

Who are the competitors of Nykaa?

Some of the prominent competitors of Nykaa are:

Purplle
Myntra
Tata Cliq

Is Nykaa Indian brand?

Yes, Nykaa is an Indian lifestyle retail brand of beauty, wellness, and fashion products with headquarters in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.

How to sell on Nykaa?

Selling on Nykaa is easy. You just have to go to www.nykaa.com/sellonnykaa and then you need to go to fill up a form where you need to enter the Name of your company, Company Website, Pincode, Address, Product Categories, Brand Name, and other details, and then you would be ready to sell on Nykaa.

Who is Nykaa CEO?

Falguni Nayar is the Founder and CEO of Nykaa.

Where is the Nykaa headquarters?

Nykaa headquarters is in Mumbai, Maharashtra.

What is Nykaa tagline?

Nykaa tagline is Your Beauty, Our Passion.

What is Nykaa meaning?

The word Nykaa is derived from the Sanskrit word ‘Nayaka’, which means actress or someone in the spotlight. The name reflects the brand’s vision to empower individuals to feel confident and shine in their own unique way.

June 18, 2025

CRED Success Story: How It Made Credit Card Payments Effective and Rewarding

Company Profile is an initiative by StartupTalky to publish verified information on different startups and organizations.

The concept of credit is not new. People have been opting for credit since time immemorial. Credit is crucial when our capital cannot support certain investments, and credit cards have certainly made them easy to avail. However, paying the credit card bills is a priority and equally difficult to manage. This is why CRED decided to come forth with the unique idea of a platform that will help Indians pay their credit card bills on time and also offer them instant offers and rewards for the same.

CRED is a fintech company headquartered in Bengaluru, which allows its users to make credit card payments through its app and get exclusive offers and other benefits online. Furthermore, CRED has also introduced house rent payment options, Rent Pay; flexible credit lines, CRED Cash; and CRED Mint, with which the lenders can lend their idle money to borrowers who exhibit decent credit scores at interests of around 9% per annum.

Learn more about the CRED startup story, its founder, history, tagline, logo, business model, revenue model, funding, competitors, and more.

CRED Company Details

Startup Name	CRED
Headquarters	Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
Sector	Financial Services
Founder	Kunal Shah
Founded	2018
Website	cred.club

About CRED
CRED – Startup Story
CRED – Founder and Team
CRED – Tagline and Logo
CRED – Business Model
CRED – Revenue Model
CRED – Funding and Investors
CRED – Shareholding
CRED – Acquisitions
CRED – Growth and Revenue
CRED – Financials
CRED – Products and Features
CRED – Partnerships
CRED – Competitors

About CRED

CRED allows credit card users to pay their credit card bills through its platform and extends rewards for each transaction. The fintech platform also lets users make their house rent payments and avail all the benefits of the short-term credit lines that the app now offers. The CRED headquarters is in Bangalore.

The company takes the utmost care in protecting the data and user information. Hence, the app is completely safe and secure. Kunal Shah is the founder of CRED. He founded the company in 2018 and often describes CRED as a TrustTech company, not a Fintech. This is because his initial motivation to start CRED came from solving trust issues in Indian society, which, according to him, is the key to economic prosperity. The CRED founder, Kunal Shah, is a well-known face in the startup ecosystem who has already funded numerous startups.

CRED – Startup Story

The Cred story was very simple. The goal was to create a platform where life could be made better and systematic. Kunal Shah wanted to offer more privileges and benefits to people with good credit scores. Therefore, creating a flywheel effect for more people was important to improve the scores.

Everybody, from the startups to the government, has focused on the masses. The founder of the company wanted to focus specifically on the people, the responsible citizens who pay taxes on time. He felt that nobody had solved their problems earlier.

‘If you look at history, nobody has been rewarded for paying back on time. We want to fix that.’

Therefore, CRED was founded primarily to solve the problems of the taxpayers and reward them with attractive rewards in return.

CRED – Founder and Team

Kunal Shah

Kunal Shah is the founder and CEO of CRED. He is an Indian entrepreneur who is credited for launching new ventures for a second time. Kunal was a Philosophy graduate from Wilson College and later went on to pursue an MBA from the Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies, but he dropped the course midway to chase his dreams as an entrepreneur.

Kunal started his entrepreneurial journey with PaisaBack, a website for cashback, coupons, and other offers for users, along with Sandeep Tandon. However, he eventually shut down its operations in order to found FreeCharge, which the duo founded in 2010.

FreeCharge was acquired by Snapdeal in April 2015, but the company still continued as an independent entity led by Shah. CRED was founded in 2018 and successfully turned unicorn on April 6, 2021. FreeCharge, on the other hand, was acquired by Axis Bank in July 2017. Here’s looking at the FreeCharge business model and how it makes money through it.

Kunal Shah was born in Mumbai in 1983. His hobbies include playing chess and poker. He loves munching on chips and guacamole. He loves the ideology of Socrates and the plays of G.B. Shaw.

CRED – Tagline and Logo

CRED’s tagline is ‘Suraksha Aur Bharosa Dono.’

CRED Logo

CRED – Business Model

The business model of CRED consists of four parts :

CRED app – The CRED app is a neat-looking, beautifully designed app that users can visit if they want to go through the offers that are available after they pay their credit card bills. They can easily sign up on the app and view all the offers that they can avail of.

Businesses that provide offers on the app – The users of CRED can also find a wide range of offers from numerous businesses. For this, CRED brings businesses on board and collaborates with them. Along with benefitting CRED and its customers, who can avail of the exclusive offers provided by the businesses, it is also a win-win situation for the companies. This is because they also hugely benefit from the visibility they get.

Users who pay their credit card bills – CRED also serves as a smooth and rewarding platform for the users who use it to pay their credit card bills. In comparison to banking or other apps, end-users can choose CRED as an app to pay their credit card bills and get numerous offers and benefits. On the other hand, the users who like the app also share CRED with their family and friends.

CRED Mint – CRED disclosed its new feature, CRED Mint, on August 20, 2021, which is designed as a peer-to-peer lending platform that will help CRED users lend their idle money to creditworthy members. It is a rather transparent process that only allows the trustworthy CRED members boasting of a minimal credit score of 750 or higher to be the borrowers. Furthermore, the lenders can also withdraw their money whenever they want, with the interest that they have accumulated for the period.

CRED – Revenue Model

There are 2 prominent ways via which CRED makes money,

Listing products and offers – CRED, as we know, lists an array of products and offers that benefit its users from a range of businesses. These businesses, in turn, pay CRED a fee for their visibility. Every time a user avails of the offers, CRED generates an income through it.

Using the financial data of the users, CRED accumulates the financial data from the users who use the platform for paying their bills and more. Along with providing CRED with the opportunity to introduce more offers to their users using these data, CRED also has other banks and financial institutions that pay them a fee for accessing these data. These companies, banks, and financial institutions would eventually approach the potential customers with their own set of products aligned to their tastes.

CRED has revealed that it does not charge any fees for the credit card payment options that it offers via its app. The company instead earns its revenues from the ancillary services it provides with the help of its technology and distribution platform.

CRED – Funding and Investors

Here’s a look at the CRED funding rounds:

Date	Transaction Name	Money Raised	Lead Investors
June 9, 2025		$72 million	Lathe Investment, RTP Global, Sofina Ventures, QED Innovation Labs
June 9, 2022	Series F	$80 million	GIC, Sofina, Alpha Wave and DF International
April 8, 2022	Venture Round	$200 million	GIC
October 19, 2021	Series E	$251 million	Tiger GLobal and Falcon Edge
April 6, 2021	Series D	$215 million	Coatue, Falcon Edge Capital and others
January 1, 2021	Post-IPO Secondary Round	–	–
November 30, 2020	Series C	$81 million	DST Global
July 26, 2019	Series B	$120 million	Gemini Investments, Ribbit Capital and Sequoia Capital India
April 16, 2019	Series A	$24 million	–
January 1, 2019	Seed Round	–	Rainmatter Technology
November 6, 2018	Seed Round	$30 million	Sequoia Capital India

CRED – Shareholding

Here is CRED’s shareholding pattern as of March 2025, sourced from Tracxn:

CRED Shareholders	Percentage
Kunal Shah	10.8%
QED Innovation Labs	9.6%
Sequoia Capital	9.3%
Ribbit Capital	8.1%
Tiger Global Management	5.8%
Gemini Investment Management	4.8%
DST Global	4.5%
Alpha Wave Global	4.7%
Coatue	4.0%
Hillhouse Capital Group	2.0%
RTP Global	2.5%
General Catalyst	1.6%
Sofina	1.5%
Greenoaks	1.5%
GIC	0.9%
Prime Venture Partners	0.8%
Dragoneer Investment Group	0.8%
Insight Luxembourg	0.5%
Axiom Asia	0.2%
Marshall Wace	0.2%
Kalaari Capital	0.2%
Dream Duo	0.2%
Rise Global Capital	0.2%
Matrix Partners India	0.2%
SciFi	0.1%
Whiteboard Capital	< 0.1%
Rainmatter	< 0.1%
Greyhound Capital Management	< 0.1%
Bharat Innovation Fund	< 0.1%
Reddy Futures	< 0.1%
Venture Highway	< 0.1%
Future Shape	< 0.1%
Rajaram Family Trust	< 0.1%
Zarringhalam Ventures	< 0.1%
Mission Holdings	< 0.1%
Meridian Fund	< 0.1%
Cupola Venture Opportunites l	< 0.1%
Alteria Capital	< 0.1%
Valiant Capital Partners	–
ReDefine Capital Partners	–
Credence Partners	–
Ganesh Ventures	–
eWTP Capital	–
The Chatterjee Family Revocable Trust	–
AME Cloud Ventures	–
CRED	0.8%
Anxa Holding	0.6%
MVision	0.6%
GRACE software	0.3%
SFSPVI	0.2%
Stak3 International	0.2%
Spenny	< 0.1%
Strategic Asset Management	< 0.1%
Ra Hospitality	< 0.1%
Kuber Technologes	–
SF Roofdeck Capital	–
Angel	0.2%
Other People	1.3%
ESOP Pool	20.4%
Total	100.0%

CRED – Acquisitions

CRED has acquired five companies to date: Hipbar, Happay, smallcase, and Spenny. The recent acquisition is of Spenny on June 23, 2023.

Company Acquired	Date	Deal Value
Kuvera	February 6, 2024	–
Spenny	June 23, 2023	–
smallcase	August 2, 2022	$400 million
Happay	December 1, 2021	$180 million
HipBar	October 21, 2021	–

CRED – Growth and Revenue

CRED has shown steady growth throughout the years. Being a startup that was founded in 2018, it successfully joined the unicorn club on April 6, 2021, closing its Series D round where the company had mopped up $215 million. CRED controls “22% of all credit card payments in India every month,” said Kunal Shah in his statement released in April 2021. CRED’s valuation reached $6.5 billion in 2022 after a $200 million funding round.

Kunal Shah further took to his LinkedIn profile on July 10, 2021, and shared highlights of the milestones reached by CRED in June:

Kunal Shah shared financial progress of CRED on LinkedIn

CRED Financials

CRED saw its operating revenue grow by 71% to INR 2,397 crore in FY24, up from INR 1,400 crore the previous year.

Including other income, CRED’s total revenue increased by 66%, reaching INR 2,473 crore in FY24, compared to INR 1,484 crore in FY23.

However, despite the rise in revenue, the company’s net loss expanded by 22%, reaching INR 1,644 crore in FY24, up from INR 1,347 crore the previous year. CRED noted that its operating loss decreased by 41%, dropping to INR 609 crore from INR 1,024 crore in FY23. The company’s total operating expenditure, including one-time costs, amounted to INR 3,082 crore in FY24.

Whereas, CRED’s operating revenue has increased from INR 393.5 crore in FY22 to INR 1,400.6 crore in FY23. In terms of profit and loss, company losses increased from INR 1,279.5 crore in FY22 to INR 1,347 crore in FY23.

CRED Revenue Breakdown

Particulars	FY23	FY22
Revenue from Operations	INR 1,400.3 crore	INR 394.4 crore
Other Income	INR 84.4 crore	INR 28.2 crore
Total Revenue	INR 1,484.6 crore	INR 422.6 crore

Revenue more than tripled in FY23, led by a sharp increase in operational revenue from INR 394.4 crore to INR 1,400.3 crore.

CRED Profit/Loss

Losses remained high and consistent, increasing slightly from INR 1,279.6 crore in FY22 to INR 1,347.5 crore in FY23.

CRED Expenses Breakdown

The company’s total expenses rose from INR 1,702 crore in FY22 to INR 2,832 crore in FY23.

Particulars	FY23	FY22
Employee Benefit Expense	INR 788.9 crore	INR 307.6 crore
Finance Costs	INR 3.5 crore	INR 2.4 crore
Amortization & Depreciation	INR 59.4 crore	INR 14.3 crore
Other Expenses	INR 1,980.2 crore	INR 1,377.7 crore
Total Expenses	INR 2,832 crore	INR 1,702.1 crore

EBITDA

With a huge increase in EBITDA margin from -299.24% in FY22 to -86.42% in FY23, the company showed remarkable financial improvement. The ROCE increased from -42.66% in FY22 to -31.95% in FY23, demonstrating good improvement. These adjustments imply that the company’s financial performance is on the upswing.

EBITDA FY22-FY23	FY22	FY23
EBITDA Margin	-299.24%	-86.42%
Expense/₹ of Op Revenue	₹4.33	₹2.02
Roce	-42.66%	-31.95%

Quick Summary: Comparative Insights (FY23 vs FY22)

Revenue Growth: Revenue surged 251%, highlighting strong traction in core services.
Expense Surge: Expenses rose by 66%, indicating significant operational scale-up.
Losses Sustained: Losses stayed high despite revenue growth due to steep cost increases.

CRED – Products and Features

CRED Mint

CRED introduced CRED Mint on August 20, 2021, which will serve as a peer-to-peer lending feature that can be used by the customers of CRED. CRED Mint was launched by CRED in collaboration with RBI-approved P2P Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC), Liquiloans.

CRED Cash

CRED launched CRED Cash, a flexible credit line, in 2020. CRED Cash considers its members pre-approved for an active credit line of up to INR 5 lakhs without any documents, phone calls, forms, or physical visits.

Rent Pay

CRED launched Rent Pay in April 2020, which enables users to pay their monthly rent via credit cards.

CRED Store

CRED launched CRED Store, an eCommerce platform, which is deemed as a haven for customers with over 500 premium brands across a wide range of categories to shop from.

CRED, which was famous as a credit card bill manager, is now up with some more offerings, including mobile, DTH, and FASTtag recharge options. As per the latest reports dated April 1, 2022, the Kunal Shah-led company has launched its utility bill payments segment, with the help of which the users can now pay their utility bills, including electricity, water bills, and municipal tax, via the CRED app.

Tap to Pay Feature

With the Tap to Pay feature Android users with NFC capabilities can pay without physical cards or wallets by tapping their smartphones on merchant terminals. CRED launched this feature in February 2022.

BidBlast

BidBlast is a thrilling bidding game that CRED members can only play, and it was launched in December 2022. This will give the CRED members the excitement of bidding without using actual money by using CRED coins.

CRED Flash

CRED launched CRED flash in February 2023; with this launch, customers can make payments using BNPL products within the app and across more than 500 partner merchants.

CRED Escapes

The launch of CRED Escapes in March 2023 will provide a painstakingly designed platform with premium privileges, exclusive events, and lodging. This is consistent with CRED’s cutting-edge strategy, which offers members benefits like spa credits, hotel upgrades, and theme park admission.

P2P Payments

CRED launched a P2P payment feature in April 2023. With this feature, customers of CRED will be able to send money to other users via UPI IDs or contact numbers using P2P payment.

RuPay Credit card-based payments

In August 2023, CRED, in collaboration with NPCI in August 2023, launched Rupay credit card- based payment, and now customers can make UPI payments using their credit cards. This partnership benefits banks and merchants by increasing spending and credit sector inclusion.

Fourth Edition of AWP program

CRED launched its fourth version of the AWP (Accelerated Wealth Program), giving staff members the opportunity to purchase more ESOPs (Employee Stock Ownership Plans) with a quicker vesting period.

According to a March 15, 2024, report, this program gives employees the option to choose to have up to 50% of their pay come from special grant ESOPs. With this initiative, CRED hopes to encourage employee ownership and alignment with the company’s long-term growth trajectory while also rewarding and incentivizing staff members.

CRED – Competitors

CRED’s top competitors are Paytm, PhonePe, Google Pay, Amazon Pay, Freecharge, and MobiKwik.

Paytm is the top competitor of CRED. It is a fintech app and payments platform that is headquartered in Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India, and was founded in 2010.
PhonePe is another notable competitor of CRED. It is also a digital payment and financial services platform headquartered in Bangalore, India, and was founded in 2015. This app has the largest market share of 50% as of December 2022.
Being a UPI platform that is a mass-volume player, Google Pay is another competitor of CRED. This digital payments platform was developed by the Search engine giant Google itself.
Amazon Pay is also a rival of CRED, which is now all set to provide diverse payment options. The online payments processing app was launched by Amazon and founded in 2007.
MobiKwik is yet another fintech company, that supports digital payment options and is a rival of CRED at the same time. It is headquartered in Gurugram, Haryana, India, and was founded in 2009.
Freecharge is also a company that CRED competes with, after the launch of its mobile bills and utility bill payment services. Originally founded by Kunal Shah and Sandeep Tandon, Freecharge is now owned by Axis Bank.

FAQs

What is CRED company?

CRED allows credit card users to pay their bills through its platform and extends rewards for each transaction. The fintech platform also lets the users make their house rent payments, and also avail all the benefits of the short-term credit lines that the app now offers.

Who is CRED founder and CRED CEO?

Kunal Shah is the founder and CEO of CRED.

CRED started in which year?

Kunal Shah founded CRED in 2018.

Is CRED a fintech company?

Yes, CRED is a fintech company founded by Kunal Shah and headquartered in Bangalore.

Is CRED an Indian company?

Yes, CRED is an Indian fintech company.

How does CRED make money?

CRED earns money from listing fees that businesses pay to display their products and offers on its app – CRED collects your financial data as you use the app and continues to pay your bills to offer you better offers in the future. To gain access to this data, banks and credit card companies pay CRED.

Is CRED profitable?

CRED saw its operating revenue grow by 71% to INR 2,397 crore in FY24, up from INR 1,400 crore the previous year. Despite the rise in revenue, the company’s net loss expanded by 22%, reaching INR 1,644 crore in FY24, up from INR 1,347 crore the previous year.

How much is CRED revenue?

CRED saw its operating revenue grow by 71% to INR 2,397 crore in FY24, up from INR 1,400 crore the previous year.

What is CRED tagline?

The tagline of CRED company is Suraksha Aur Bharosa Dono.

Which is CRED parent company?

CRED doesn’t have a parent company. It is an independent fintech platform.

June 10, 2025

From Complexity to Convenience: How Udaan Transformed B2B Trading

The modern consumer relies on a network of traders, wholesalers, retailers, and manufacturers for a myriad of essential products. E-commerce has made shopping easier for customers, but it has also created difficulties for the different participants in the supply chain.

Building relationships inside the distribution channel has proven to be a challenging undertaking for retail stores, store owners, and anyone involved in the wholesaling and retailing sector. B2B eCommerce solutions have emerged in response to this demand, with the goal of establishing smooth linkages throughout the chain.

Udaan, as a prominent player in this space, is specifically designed to facilitate connections and aid traders, retailers, and wholesalers in the small and medium businesses of India.

Udaan’s multipurpose platform, which functions as a B2B trading platform in India, covers a broad range of categories, such as toys, home and kitchen, electronics, fruits and vegetables, and more. Its purpose is to make distribution network operations more efficient and collaborative while offering businesses in India a complete solution.

Read this article to know more about Udaan’s founders, business model, revenue model, growth, challenges faced, funding, and more.

Udaan – Company Highlights

STARTUP NAME	UDAAN
Headquarters	Bangalore, Karnataka, India
Sector	E-commerce
Founder	Amod Malviya, Vaibhav Gupta and Sujeet Kumar
Founded	2016
Valuation	$1.88 billion (as of November 2024)
Website	udaan.com

Udaan – About
Udaan – How it Works
Udaan – Industry
Udaan – Founders and Team
Udaan – Startup Story
Udaan – Mission and Vision
Udaan – Name, Tagline, and Logo
Udaan – Business Model
Udaan – Revenue Model
Udaan – Challenges Faced
Udaan – Funding and Investors
Udaan – Investments
Udaan – Financials
Udaan – Advertisements and Social Media Campaigns
Udaan – Awards and Achievements
Udaan – Competitors
Udaan – Future Plans

Udaan – About

Udaan is a (B2B) Business-to-Business e-commerce platform. The company helps its users to grow their businesses by leveraging the power of technology. It is popularly known as one of the largest national distribution platforms of its kind that has already attained unicorn status, thereby becoming one of the unicorns of India, when it raised around $225 million in 2018.

With an aim to make business easy in India, it provides its users, access to new markets. Furthermore, it also provides financial products for the sellers and buyers of the country as well. The goal of the company is to bring traders, manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers under a single platform.

Udaan – How it Works

Udaan is an all-inclusive marketplace that links producers, retailers, wholesalers, and dealers while providing a wide selection of premium goods at affordable costs. It offers merchants an easy-to-use onboarding process that requires little information, as well as effective catalog tools that simplify the presentation of products and provide a dynamic, two-way channel for trade.

It facilitates seamless integration for sellers by supporting established trade practices and ensuring reliable delivery through udaanExpress, backed by partnerships with leading courier services in India.

The platform places a high priority on compliance, providing a safe and transparent environment for transactions along with a dependable payment gateway. By extending this dedication to safe and prompt product deliveries, the platform further solidifies its standing as a reputable e-commerce platform.

In essence, Udaan not only connects businesses but also simplifies the selling process, offering a secure and efficient marketplace that prioritizes transparency, compliance, and customer satisfaction.

Udaan – Industry

The India E-Commerce Market is estimated to be valued at $112.93 billion in 2024, and projections suggest a robust growth trajectory, reaching $299.01 billion by 2029 with a notable CAGR of 21.5% during the forecast period (2024-2029), according to analysis from Mordor Intelligence.

In this dynamic e-commerce environment, Udaan stands out as a major force in the B2B eCommerce market. According to recent reports as of January 5, 2024, Udaan is expected to play a major role in the industry’s growth. The B2B eCommerce market is expected to grow at an attractive compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 20% until FY25.

Udaan – Founders and Team

Udaan was founded by Amod Malviya (co-founder and Engineer), Vaibhav Gupta (co-founder), and Sujeet Kumar (co-founder).

Amod Malviya

Amod Malviya is the Founder and the Engineer of Udaan. Malviya prominently served as the Chief Technology Officer at Flipkart for a period of more than 5 years. Itellix Software Solutions, Riya Internet Technologies Pvt Ltd, and ApnaPaisa Pvt. Ltd. are some other companies where Amod has served as Software Engineer, Sr. Software Engineer, and V.P Engineering respectively before founding Udaan. Amod Malviya was an alumnus of the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, from where he completed his BTech in Electrical Engineering.

Vaibhav Gupta

Vaibhav Gupta is another founder of Udaan, who was also appointed as the CEO of the company in September 2021. Vaibhav was also a previous employee at Flipkart, which he joined after serving as an Engagement Manager and Senior Consultant at McKinsey & Company and Trilogy E-Business Software India Ltd. respectively. Gupta is also an IITian, who graduated from IIT Delhi with Computer Science & Engineering. He then pursued his MBA from the University of Virginia, Darden Graduate School of Business Administration.

Sujeet Kumar

Sujeet Kumar is the co-founder of Udaan. He pursued his BTech in Civil Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi. Sujeet was appointed as the President of Operations at Flipkart, where he served for over 3 years before founding Udaan.

Udaan operates with an employee strength between 1500-5000, as per LinkedIn.

Udaan – Startup Story

In 2016, Udaan took flight from its base in Bangalore, setting out on a journey that would redefine B2B e-commerce in India. Amod Malviya, Vaibhav Gupta, and Sujeet Kumar, three visionaries who had developed their skills at Flipkart, founded the company and brought a plethora of experience with them. Their varied positions at Flipkart together created the foundation for an initiative that aims to transform how companies interact and prosper.

At first, Udaan concentrated on solving the unique problems that small buyers and sellers in the electronics industry faced. For the first eight to ten months, the startup focused on being well-known around the nation, realizing that having a solid database was crucial before going all in with the supply business.

“Almost 94% of product sales in India happen through mom-and-pop stores. But small store owners have major sourcing and supply chain problems. We felt catering to their needs is a huge opportunity,” said Udaan Co-founder Sujeet Kumar.

After becoming popular as a platform for logistics, Udaan carefully increased the range of products it offered. It developed into a well-known B2B marketplace over time, bringing together manufacturers, merchants, and distributors. Udaan is growing today and wants to become more than just a trading platform.

Udaan – Mission and Vision

Mission: As per the company’s website, their mission is articulated as:

Our mission is to enable small manufacturers, farmers, and brands to market and sell their products across the country at low cost with 100% payment security and complete transparency. While doing so we enable small businesses such as shopkeepers, kirana, restaurants, street vendors, chemists, offices, small factories, contractors etc. to source from a large selection of high-quality products at best prices while facilitating efficient and transparent transactions with huge convenience.

Vision: The vision of Udaan is to “transform the way trade is done in India leveraging technology.“

Udaan – Name, Tagline, and Logo

Udaan Logo

Udaan – Business Model

Udaan sets itself apart as an asset-light player by deliberately avoiding asset ownership in its business model. It is a dynamic marketplace that connects businesses and functions as a B2B e-commerce platform, enabling them to find a wide range of suppliers, consumers, and items in different categories. Beyond just facilitating transactions, Udaan offers a wide range of services. For smooth operations, the platform guarantees safe payments and offers extra logistical support.

Merchants on the Udaan platform benefit from a suite of solutions encompassing accounting, order management, and payment management. Udaan goes beyond traditional e-commerce functions by offering working capital to retailers at reasonable rates, effectively underwriting loans for small businesses.

This unique feature positions Udaan not only as a facilitator of trade between retailers and wholesalers but also as a financial enabler for the growth of small businesses. Operating in diverse categories such as lifestyle, electronics, FMCG, pharma, home and kitchen, staples, fruits and vegetables, toys, and general merchandise, Udaan’s business model aligns with its mission to empower businesses across a spectrum of industries.

Udaan – Revenue Model

The revenue model of Udaan can be laid out as:

Revenue from Logistics: As logistics is an important part of the services of Udaan, it also serves as a revenue driver for the company. Udaan collects delivery charges from the market participants against the services it provides, associated with the pick up of goods from the seller’s premises and delivering the same to the buyers. The company also receives fees for collecting any return of sales from the customers.
Warehousing services: Udaan offers storage and warehousing services for the sellers who are registered with the platform in order to deliver goods faster to the buyers, which in turn generates revenues for the company.
Receivable collection services: Udaan also collects fees from receivable management services that include the collection of payments from buyers in cash on behalf of the sellers or accepting payments online on behalf of the sellers.
Advertisement services: The advertisement services that Udaan provides, where the company promotes the product listings to ensure better visibility among the buyers of the platform also contributes to a part of their revenues.
Interest from credit: Udaan also offers credit to its merchants and traders via its NBFC arm, which helps them meet their working capital requirements. This service of Udaan helps the company generate interests, which thus becomes an important source of revenue for the platform.
Other value-added services: Udaan offers numerous other fee-based value-added services to the businesses that are registered on its platform. These services consist of packaging and printing labels on products, the printing of invoices, and returns management services, which also add up to the total revenues of the company.

Udaan – Challenges Faced

Udaan faces several challenges in the competitive business world. Selecting the appropriate things to sell and the most effective means to reach customers is a major challenge. The dynamic nature of the market makes things difficult. It can be difficult for Udaan to persuade companies to use their web platform.

The company wants to use technology and efficient delivery methods to grow, but making these work smoothly on a large scale is tough. In the competition, Udaan has big rivals like Flipkart Wholesale, Amazon Business, and Jiomart Partners, as well as new players like Elastic Run and Shop Kirana. Building a good supply chain, or the way they get products to customers, is a big challenge for Udaan.

In addition, Udaan had to let go of a few workers in December 2023, which raised concerns about the viability of the business. This was their third layoff as they had previously done two in 2022. Thus, in addition to addressing corporate difficulties, Udaan also has internal problems.

Udaan – Funding and Investors

Here’s look at the prominent Udaan funding rounds that the company has seen to date:

Date	Transaction Name	Money Raised	Lead Investors
June 02, 2025	Series G	$114 million	M&G Investments and Lightspeed
October 28, 2024	Debt Financing	$36 million	–
December 14, 2023	Series E	$340 million	M&G Plc
November 24, 2022	Convertible Note	$35 million	EvolutionX
November 24, 2022	Debt Financing	–	EvolutionX
October 27, 2022	Convertible Note	$120 million	–
January 5, 2022	Convertible Note	$225 million	–
January 5, 2022	Debt Financing Round	$50 million	–
November 18, 2021	Debt Financing Round	Rs 50 crore	–
November 6, 2021	Debt financing round	$10 million	InnoVen Capital
September 25, 2021	Debt financing round	$6.7 million	BlackSoil
January 6, 2021	Series D	$280 million	Moonstone Capital, Octahedron Capital

Udaan – Investments

Udaan has invested in 5 companies till now.

Below are the details:

Date	Funding Round	Amount	Company Name
October 3, 2024	Seed Round	$3.3 million	Furnishka
March 12, 2024	Series A	$4 million	Pizza Wings
November 15, 2021	Series B	$4.5 million	Petpooja
September 9, 2021	Seed Round	–	OckyPocky
February 10, 2020	Series A	$2 million	Petpooja

Udaan – Financials

Udaan Financials	FY22	FY23	FY24
Operating revenue	INR 9,900 cr	INR 5,609.3 cr	INR 5,706.6 cr
Total expenses	INR 12,978 cr	INR 7,750.8 cr	INR 7,407.6 cr
Profit/Loss	Loss of INR 3,132 cr	Loss of INR 2,075.9 cr	Loss of INR 1,674.1 cr

Udaan Expenses

Udaan total expenses have decreased from INR 7,750.8 crore in FY23 to INR 7,407.6 crore in FY24.

EBITDA

EBITDA FY23-FY24	FY22	FY23	FY24
EBITDA Margin	-26.16%	-42.89%	-37.13%
Expense/Rs of Op Revenue	INR 1.42	INR 1.38	INR 1.30
ROCE	-149.3%	-143.81%	-169.05%

Udaan – Advertisements and Social Media Campaigns

Udaan – Marketing Campaign

Kirana

The advertising campaign emphasizes how simple utilizing the Udaan app is for small business owners. This campaign is a component of Udaan’s strategy to revolutionize how kirana shop owners get their daily supplies while also growing its presence in the food-FMCG segment across the nation.

Udaan – Awards and Achievements

Udaan has earned a lot of praise and attention for its outstanding achievements in the business sector. Some notable ones include:

Workplace Excellence (2022): Udaan was honored with the Best Places to Work in India Award by AmbitionBox, reflecting its commitment to creating a positive and exceptional work environment for its employees.

Forbes Accolade (2019): Forbes presented Udaan with the FILA Outstanding Startup of the Year award, recognizing the company’s exceptional contributions to the startup ecosystem and its noteworthy performance in the industry.

Unicorn Recognition (2018): Udaan has been recognized as one of the fastest companies to scale to a unicorn, which has achieved the unicorn valuation back in September 2018.

Udaan – Competitors

Here’s to mention the top Udaan competitors in India:

Meesho
DMart
Moglix
Bizongo
TradeIndia
ZoomTail
BigTrade
Tradekosh

Udaan – Future Plans

Udaan, a business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce company, is planning to expand its presence in the FMCG and HoReCa (Hotel, Restaurant, and Catering) segments and ramp up private label initiatives in the staples category. The company also aims to strengthen its financial position and is preparing for a potential IPO.

FAQs

What is Udaan?

Udaan is a market leader in the B2B eCommerce segment. Founded in 2016 in Bengaluru, Udaan brings manufacturers, traders, retailers, and wholesalers into a single platform.

Who are the founders of Udaan?

Amod Malviya, Sujeet Kumar, and Vaibhav Gupta founded Udaan.

Who is the CEO of Udaan?

Vaibhav Gupta has been announced as the CEO of Udaan in September 2021.

Is Udaan a B2B trading platform in India?

Yes, Udaan is a B2B trading platform in India. The Bengaluru-based B2B ecommerce unicorn is designed to bring manufacturers, traders, wholesalers, and retailers under the same platform.

Is Udaan unicorn?

Yes, Udaan is a unicorn company in India, which is also hailed as the fastest tech startup to receive the unicorn status. Udaan achieved this feat when it raised $225 million in funding in September 2018.

What are some of the Udaan company products?

Udaan makes a wide range of products available to all, which includes rice and rice products, salt, spices, masala, pulses and grains, dry fruits, along with products from several other categories including electronics and appliances, medicines, home and kitchen appliances, hardware supplies, luggage, backpacks and more.

Who are the Udaan competitors in India?

Udaan competitors in India are:

Bizongo
Meesho
TradeIndia
DMart
Moglix
Zoomtail
Bigtrade
Tradekosh

Who are Udaan investors?

Some of the prominent Udaan investors are Microsoft, DST Global, Lightspeed Venture Partners and more.

June 3, 2025

The Success Story of NoBroker: Creating a Dalal-Free Real Estate Ecosystem in India!

Company Profile is an initiative by StartupTalky to publish verified information on different startups and organizations.

Anything that has to do with real estate, specifically as a purchaser has always been convoluted and annoying. The constant push from the sellers, nagging from the middlemen, lack of fluid communication, and running helter-skelter to get the paperwork done are some of the common horrors in the world of real estate. Was it meant to be this way?

Yes, many of us have pondered on the scene on several occasions but without any outcome. Akhil Gupta, Amit Agarwal, and Saurabh Garg also thought of improving this gloomy scenario and found a solution in the form of NoBroker. Founded in 2014, NoBroker is a Bangalore-based startup in the real estate search domain, that connects flat and property owners with tenants and buyers directly through their platform, thereby making buying, selling, and renting properties simpler, transparent, and affordable.

NoBroker claims to handle around $2 billion worth of transactions on its platform each year and saves INR 130 crores of brokerage monthly. The platform helped Indian real estate customers save around INR 1,100 crores worth of brokerage in 2020. The company further strives to help the Indians usher in a new era of smooth and easy real estate transactions minus the “brokers.” The startup became a unicorn on November 23, 2021.

StartupTalky interviewed Mr. Saurabh Garg, Co-Founder & CBO of NoBroker to get insights on the Startup Journey and the Growth Story of NoBroker. Read on to learn about NoBroker company, its owner, business model, revenue model, competitors, founders, revenue, funding & more.

NoBroker Company Details

Startup Name	NoBroker
Headquarters	Bangalore
Founders	Amit Kumar Agarwal, Saurabh Garg, Akhil Gupta
Founded	2014
Sector	Proptech, Real Estate
Total Funding	$430.9 million (March 2023)
Website	nobroker.in
Registered Entity Name	NoBroker Technologies Solutions Private Limited

About NoBroker
NoBroker – Real Estate Industry Details
NoBroker – Founders and Team
NoBroker – History and Startup Story
NoBroker – Products and Services
NoBroker – Name and Logo
NoBroker – Business Model and Revenue Model
NoBroker – Startup Challenges Faced
NoBroker – Funding and Investors
NoBroker – Shareholding
NoBroker – Growth and Revenue
NoBroker – Financials
NoBroker – ESOP
NoBroker – Acquisitions
NoBroker – Competitors
NoBroker – Awards and Recognition
NoBroker – Future Plans

About NoBroker

NoBroker is a disruptive force in the real estate sector that uses innovative technologies to connect property owners, buyers, and renters with the help of a single platform.

Here’s what NoBroker has to say about their mission:

Our mission is to lead India’s real estate industry towards an era of doing real estate transactions in a convenient and brokerage-free manner.

NoBroker – Real Estate Industry Details

India’s real estate market was worth $477 billion in 2022. It is projected to grow to $1 trillion by 2030 and $5.17 trillion by 2047. Furthermore, the market size of the real estate sector in India, which was estimated to be around US$ 120 billion in 2017, will be expected to grow to US$ 1 trillion by 2030 and will contribute nearly 13% to the country’s GDP by 2025.

In FY23, India’s residential real estate market experienced unprecedented growth, with home sales reaching a record high of INR 3.47 lakh crore ($42 billion), marking a substantial 48% year-on-year increase. This surge underscores the sector’s potential, with forecasts suggesting its contribution to India’s GDP could rise to 15.5% by 2047, expanding the real estate sector to a projected $5.8 trillion.

Besides, Indian firms are also expected to raise more than $48 billion with the help of infrastructure and real estate investment trusts in 2022 when compared to raised funds, which are worth $29 billion to date, according to ICRA.

NoBroker – Founders and Team

(L-R) Amit Kumar Agarwal, Akhil Gupta, Saurabh Garg - NoBroker Founders — (L-R) Amit Kumar Agarwal, Akhil Gupta, Saurabh Garg – NoBroker Founders

NoBroker company was founded by Amit Kumar Agarwal, Akhil Gupta, and Saurabh Garg.

“I first met Akhil when we were studying at IIT Bombay and Amit at IIM Ahmedabad. Convincing them was not tough, as we all had our fair share of hassle when looking for properties” says Saurabh Garg, Co-founder & CBO, NoBroker.

Amit Kumar Agarwal: Co-founder and CEO of NoBroker
Akhil Gupta: Co-founder, Chief Tech and Product Officer of NoBroker
Saurabh Garg: Co-founder and CBO of NoBroker

NoBroker company currently operates with a team of 1000+ highly motivated individuals consistently working to offer better services to over 30 million registered users across Bangalore, Mumbai, Pune, Chennai, Hyderabad, and Delhi-NCR.

Amit Kumar Agarwal: Co-founder & CEO, NoBroker

Amit Agarwal is a banking and finance veteran, with over 15 years of experience in the banking and finance sector in management consulting and strategy. He had previously worked with leading global entities like PricewaterhouseCoopers, where he collaborated with numerous renowned Indian and foreign banks. Besides, he also garnered considerable experience of working with the top CXOs on several critical aspects, including the formulation of business strategy and the enhancement of on-ground profitability. He also displays a successful track record of guiding entry and portfolio strategy along with large-scale policy implementation and has won several industry accolades for his accomplishments.

In his role as the CEO of NoBroker.in, Amit spearheads the organization’s overall vision and direction and is responsible for defining and gilding its corporate strategies. Amit is an alumnus of the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, and IIM, Ahmedabad.

Akhil Gupta: Co-founder & CTO, NoBroker

Akhil is the Co-founder and Chief Tech and Product Officer of NoBroker and has been instrumental in building the foundation for NoBroker’s spectacular growth. Akhil holds a dual degree (B.Tech & M.Tech) from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay.

He leads the entire tech vertical of the company and is responsible for building, scaling, and managing teams along with overseeing the business growth of NoBroker to promise a heightened customer experience. His commitment to efficiency and finding disruptive solutions to the most crucial business challenges has helped NoBroker offer some ground-breaking features like the AMP/PWA, and WhatsApp chat feature, along with the use of AI and ML to provide rent prediction and recommendations. These were some of the firsts in its league. Many of the products built at NoBroker serve as successful case studies at Google and Facebook.

Furthermore, Akhil also monitors the products of the company and is continuously engaged in making necessary amendments and improvements to them. Akhil had over a decade’s worth of experience before setting forth with NoBroker. He had previously worked with Oracle, where he had led several products in Siebel, Oracle Ebiz, and Oracle Sales Cloud, and was also responsible for filing a couple of patents for the same. He is currently associated with the world’s largest customer-to-customer real estate portal and is anticipating massive growth in the upcoming years.

Saurabh Garg: Co-founder & CBO, NoBroker

Saurabh Garg was also a student of IIT Bombay and IIM Ahmedabad and as soon as he finished his studies, he set out with Hindustan Unilever Limited as a fresh graduate. Saurabh worked for the Sales and Marketing team of HUL and left the company after 3 years. Next, he founded Four Fountains De-Stress Spa, which was his first entrepreneurial leap. Saurabh is still serving as the Co-founder and Director of the Four Fountains Spa, which he founded back in May 2007.

His experience with Hindustan Unilever and as an entrepreneur helped him gain considerable experience. This has further benefitted him in his role as the Chief Business Officer at NoBroker.in. Saurabh’s role in the revolutionary real-estate platform is mainly to pursue strategic alliances with real estate developers and corporates to bring high-quality supply and demand at a low cost, thereby expanding the revenue stream. Saurabh contributed largely to building the marketing team from scratch and empowered them to take on new challenges and try new and disruptive solutions without fearing failure. This freedom to experiment is one of the reasons why NoBroker.in has achieved over 1 million app downloads within the first 3 years with surprisingly less marketing costs. The platform also has the lowest customer acquisition costs in the competitive Indian real estate sector.

Amid mounting social media criticism from dissatisfied customers, Saurabh Garg stated that the company is actively addressing concerns and harnessing artificial intelligence to resolve issues efficiently.

NoBroker – History and Startup Story

Reminiscing the startup journey of NoBroker.in, Saurabh Garg (Co-founder & CBO of NoBroker) says:

“We established NoBroker.in when we realized that the real estate search and discovery process was fragmented, opaque, inefficient, and full of hassles for the customer. The idea first germinated after the awful experiences that we personally had with brokers while looking for a property. All the other online platforms are also marketing platforms for brokers and it is very difficult to contact the owner/seller directly. This dependence on the broker made the experience horrible for the customer. Brokers subject customers to biases, pressures, and manipulations”

He continued –

“Through NoBroker.in, we wanted to empower Indian home-seekers to find a home of their choice in a hassle free manner without paying a hefty brokerage. We did not have a prototype or a model to copy from as this was a solution built for a problem unique to Indian real estate. Brokerage has been an accepted norm for generations and therefore, penetrating the market with as disruptive a solution was not easy. The idea was simple yet bold but we knew that there was a huge scope for it. We launched the website in March 2014. Once the customer understood the unique proposition, there was no turning back for us”.

NoBroker – Products and Services

NoBroker.in addresses the gap of information asymmetry that the Indian homebuyers face in its real estate market. Its disruptive solution connects property seekers with property owners, a process that earlier used to cost as much as 1-2 months of rent or 4% of the transaction amount as brokerage. The platform also provides personalized recommendations and assists with decision-making based on real-time data.

“We are the only platform in the C2C space that directly connects tenants and buyers with owners and sellers” Saurabh mentioned.

The platform offers end-to-end one-stop solutions for property seekers including services such as rental agreements, movers & packers services, home loans, interiors, special packages for NRIs, relocation services for corporates, remote property management services, etc. It also facilitates online rent payment via credit cards, debit cards, net banking, and UPI wallets.

NoBroker also promises to be a one-stop-shop for processing the paperwork and documentation, associated with the lease agreement registration, bank franking, police verification, and society approvals.

NoBroker Home Services – Along with serving as an excellent solution for home buyers and renters, NoBroker also extends a list of useful services for homes, which are:

Painting services
Cleaning services
Home sanitization services
AC repair services
Pest control services
Carpentry services
Plumbing services

NoBroker Furniture – NoBroker also offers a wide range of furniture to buy/rent and ease the process online. It helps in installing and free relocation of furniture, swapping old ones with new ones, and maintaining them.

The platform’s visitor and community management super app- NoBrokerHood is currently optimizing society living across 11,000 societies in Bangalore, Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Chennai, Delhi-NCR, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Nagpur, Jaipur, and Kochi.

CallZen

CallZen, a platform for conversational AI, has been introduced by NoBroker on October 12, 2023. The Bengaluru-based company has already ventured into other verticals, such as apartment management software, home services, and beauty, so this is an entirely new business line for NoBroker.

NoBroker – Name and Logo

“The name had to be simple, self-explanatory and direct. So, when I saw that name NoBroker.in is available I booked it immediately back in 2007” says Saurabh.

NoBroker Logo

NoBroker – Business Model and Revenue Model

The business model of NoBroker acts as a digital peer-to-peer platform that allows homeowners/sellers and prospective tenants/buyers to connect directly without the involvement of a broker. It provides a subscription business model to customers who are looking to buy, sell, or rent a property.

NoBroker has 3 revenue models:

Freemium model for tenants
Freedom plan
Relax plan
MoneyBack plan

Apart from that, NoBroker also offers an array of home services like packers and movers, home cleaning, home painting, interiors, and a lot more. These are also among the notable sources of revenue for NoBroker.

NoBroker – Startup Challenges Faced

Real estate is a huge sector and a vastly unorganized one. For generations, it had relied on traditional processes, which involved a third party. The history of brokerage services can also be traced down to the earliest establishments of real estate. The team, therefore, focused on the most fundamental challenge faced by real estate customers: the service they were receiving was not commensurate with what the customer paid for it.

As there was information asymmetry, people had no option but to rely on broker services. Real estate platforms have been around for decades and have tried to solve the issue of information asymmetry. However, they couldn’t keep brokers away from the system. This led brokers to exploit the system to their benefit.

“When I – along with my Co-founders Amit and Akhil – formed NoBroker.in, we were determined to use technology to address the gaps in the property discovery creating a platform that was 100% brokerage free” Saurabh added.

Their approach differed from the other online real estate platforms in that they were essentially tying up with property brokers and getting them to list properties on their platforms. On the other hand, the team connected owners with sellers and tenants with buyers directly. Because of this approach, NoBroker’s value proposition found a favorable reception from the customers. NoBroker has the highest number of owner-listed properties.

It bootstrapped for quite a few months. Getting investors to believe in its proposition was a challenge because the team did not have an existing successful model to convince them to back it.

“But we were sure of our resolve and our solution, and the needle moved when we raised our first $20 million”, Saurabh exclaims proudly.

The pandemic ironically offered a shot in the arm as people could not use offline services and relied heavily on online platforms to search and finalize a house. One way or the other, the value-conscious Indian customer has realized and appreciated NoBroker’s unique proposition and helped it grow.

NoBroker – Funding and Investors

NoBroker has raised a total funding of $430.9 million to date. The company raised INR 400M from its Series-E funding led by Google, dated March 1, 2023. This has shot the valuation of the startup to over a billion dollars, thereby making it India’s first proptech (property tech) unicorn startup and the 38th Indian startup to be a unicorn in 2021.

It also raised $210 mn from its Series E funding led by General Atlantic and Tiger Global Management, dated November 23, 2021, where the US-based Moore Strategic Ventures also joined later on.

Paytm’s Vijay Shekhar Sharma and Anand Chandrashekharan, ex-Facebook are among the angel investors in the company. Google, Tiger Global, General Atlantic, and BEENEXT are some of the popular investors fueling the brand.

With the successful completion of the upcoming round, the company is estimated to be valued at over $1 billion. However, the startup managed to raise more than that and eventually emerged as a unicorn.

The Funding and Investors’ details of NoBroker are as follows –

Date	Amount	Stage	Investors
March 1, 2023	INR 400 million	Series E	Google
November 23, 2021	INR 15.8 billion	Series E	General Atlantic, Tiger Global Management
April 16, 2020	$30 million	Series D	General Atlantic
November 5, 2019	$10 million	Venture Round	General Atlantic
October 1, 2019	$50 million	Series D	Tiger Global
September 11, 2019	$51 million	Venture Round	Tiger Global Management
June 5, 2019	$51 million	Series C	General Atlantic
June 4, 2019	$2.5 million	Debt Financing	Trifecta Capital Advisors
December 19, 2016	$7 million	Series B	KTB Ventures
February 24, 2016	$10 million	Series B	BEENEXT
February 23, 2015	$3 million	Series A	Fulcrum Ventures India, SAIF Partners
March 1, 2014	–	Angel Round	–

NoBroker – Shareholding

NoBroker’s shareholding pattern as of July 2024, sourced from Tracxn:

NoBroker Shareholders	Percentage
Amit Kumar Agarwal	6.8%
Akhil Gupta	6.8%
Saurabh Garg	5.3%
General Atlantic	31.1%
Tiger Global Management	13.9%
Elevation Capital	16.3%
Moore Ventures	4.6%
Beenext	4.4%
Beenos	1.4%
DG Incubation	1.3%
VD Investments	0.9%
KTB Ventures	1.6%
Rocketship	0.5%
Qualgro	0.4%
Youngmonk Trust	–
Fulcrum PE	–
DST Global	–
Trifecta Capital	–
Google	0.5%
Angel	1.2%
ESOP Pool	3.0%
Total	100.0%

NoBroker – Financials

NoBroker has shown significant revenue growth over the years, but expenses have also increased, leading to continued losses. Below is a detailed financial breakdown from FY24 to FY20.

Particulars	FY24	FY23
Revenue	INR 803 crore	INR 609 crore
Expenses	INR 1299 crore	INR 1190 crore
Profit/Loss	INR -411 crore	INR -506 crore

NoBroker EBITDA

NoBroker Financials	FY24	FY23
EBITDA Margin	-66.55%	-42.5%
Expense/INR of op Revenue	INR 1.62	INR 1.95
ROCE	-37.12%	-34.12%

NoBroker – ESOP

NoBroker announced the completion of its employee buyback worth INR 32.2 crore in a report dated March 15, 2022. The buyback program of the proptech unicorn promises to allow 95 former and current employees of the company to liquidate their stock options, which make up for 57% of total employees with ESOPs.

NoBroker – Acquisitions

NoBrokerHood acquired Society Connect on February 11, 2020, to integrate the financial module with its services on one single platform and make society’s living easy and hassle-free.

NoBroker – Competitors

“As mentioned above, what differentiates us from other online real estate platforms is that ours is the only platform that is 100% brokerage free. We are not just enabling property discovery. We are a transaction platform and provide end to end solution. In that sense, we don’t have competition” says Saurabh.

NoBroker – Awards and Recognition

NoBroker.in is a market leader in customer-to-customer real estate transactions and leading third-party endorsements have recognized the same,

NoBroker.in was part of the elite ‘Champions of Change’ with the Prime Minister of India organized by the NITI Aayog.
NoBroker.in has been recognized as the “Coolest Startup” by the India Today Group.
The company was distinguished as the most promising startup for 2017, a recognition that it received from the Govt. of Gujarat.
NoBroker was also recognized by Forbes Japan as one of the 20 hot startups in India.
NoBroker was listed as one of the top 100 startups (36 on readers rating) with gravity-defying momentum to look up to in 2017 by YourStory.
NoBroker bagged the Digital Marketer of the Year award by IAMAI in 2018.
Most recently, the company received an award at the Emerging Awards by Tracxn where it was declared as one of the topmost companies in Real Estate Tech from across the globe.
NoBroker won for Disintermediation of Real Estate Transactions in the category of Innovation in Real Estate at the 14th AGBA in April 2024.

We’re thrilled to announce that #NoBroker has been #awarded the Emerging Awards by Tracxn and has been recognized as one of the topmost companies in Real Estate Tech from across the globe. @AmitKumarA @Sgarg2408 @akhil10s #realestate #awards #proudmoment pic.twitter.com/fctwPCt1T1

— NoBroker.com (@nobrokercom) March 17, 2020

NoBroker – Future Plans

NoBroker plans to expand its presence significantly in the Indian real estate market. They aim to reach 50 cities within the next three years, moving from their current base of 6 cities. This expansion is driven by strong demand and a focus on improving services through technology. NoBroker is actively pursuing AI-driven B2B services to increase profitability and eventually consider an IPO.

FAQs

Who are the Founders of NoBroker?

NoBroker was founded by Amit Kumar Agarwal, Akhil Gupta, and Saurabh Garg.

What is NoBroker?

NoBroker is a Bangalore-based real estate search portal, which helps connect flat owners with tenants/buyers directly and makes the buying-selling of real estate simpler. NoBroker removes the need for brokers in real estate-related dealings.

When was NoBroker founded?

NoBroker was founded in 2014.

What is NoBroker net worth?

NoBroker net worth as of March 2023 is $954 million.

How does NoBroker make money? What is NoBroker revenue model?

Around 70% of NoBroker’s revenue comes from the subscription plans it offers on various packages. Advertisements from furniture start-ups also contribute significantly as NoBroker claims over 2.5 million users visit its website per month. NoBroker also earns revenue by offering services, such as connecting tenants with movers and packers, drafting rental agreements, and extending a wide range of home services.

What is NoBroker business model?

NoBroker follows a freemium model, offering broker-free real estate transactions. It earns revenue through subscription plans, advertising, home services, and financial products like rent payments and home loans. Its AI-driven platform connects buyers, sellers, tenants, and landlords directly, eliminating middlemen.

How NoBroker works?

NoBroker is a broker-free real estate platform that connects property owners with buyers or tenants directly. It uses AI-powered matching to suggest suitable listings and allows users to communicate without middlemen. The platform also offers value-added services like home loans, rent payments, legal help, and movers. It follows a freemium model, earning from subscriptions, ads, and services, while keeping basic property listings free.

May 22, 2025

Story of Zepto: How Is It Delivering Groceries in Ten Minutes

Company Profile is an initiative by StartupTalky to publish verified information on different startups and organizations.

The digital demand for smart applications is exploding like it was never before. To satisfy our daily food needs, we all buy groceries. You only need an app on your Android phone to have all of your grocery orders delivered to your comfortable couch, eliminating the need to go to the store for your daily requirements. With only a few taps on your mobile device, you can get your groceries now.

Companies are working to reduce the time it takes to deliver groceries in the grocery delivery business. Gorillas, JOKR, Swiggy Instamart, and Blinkit, are some of the companies from all over the world that are competing with the primary goal of reducing delivery time and transporting supplies in 10-15 minutes, and so is Zepto.

Zepto app is not another grocery delivery app but a platform that promises 10-minute deliveries of groceries, built to revolutionize the selling and deliveries of groceries. With Zepto by their side, customers can conveniently purchase 25000+ products and get them delivered to their doorstep with the help of Zepto’s 10-minute e-grocery delivery app.

Learn all about Zepto company, India’s first unicorn startup in 2023, its founders, history, funding and investors, business and revenue model, startup story, growth, revenue, challenges, and more.

Zepto Company Details

Startup Name	Zepto
Legal Name	KiranaKart Technologies Private Limited
Headquarters	Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Industry	Delivery Service, Grocery Delivery, Quick Commerce
Founders	Aadit Palicha, Kaivalya Vohra
Founded	2021
Valuation	$5 billion (December 2024)
Website	zeptonow.com

About Zepto
Zepto – Industry
Zepto – Founders and Team
Zepto – Startup Story
Zepto – Mission and Vision
Zepto – Name, Logo, and Tagline
Zepto – Business and Revenue Model
Zepto – Funding and Investors
Zepto – Shareholding
Zepto – IPO
Zepto – Growth and Revenue
Zepto – Challenges
Zepto – Controversies
Zepto – Advertisements and Social Media Campaigns
Zepto – Competitors
Zepto – Future Plans

About Zepto

Zepto is a startup based in Mumbai that offers a 10-minute grocery delivery service. The owners of Zepto, Aadit Palicha, and Kaivalya Vohra launched Zepto to provide customers with ultra-fast grocery delivery.

Specializing in delivering groceries before the turn of a year is what Zepto is hailed for. It has worked with 86+ dark store owners in 13 different areas in 2021, generating over one million deliveries. To fulfill orders promptly, Zepto employs its network of ‘cloud shops’ or micro-warehouses.

Zepto’s secret of the trade lies in its capacity to routinely offer an extensive range of goods for delivery in under ten minutes. It’s at the heart of everything the company does, and it’s why they’ve been able to grow so quickly while maintaining incredible client loyalty.

Zepto operates in multiple cities with a 1000+ strong workforce and delivers 25000+ products, including fresh produce, daily essentials, health products, and more, within 10 minutes. Utilizing advanced technology and optimized delivery centers, the company is transforming the Indian grocery segment. With rapid commerce on the rise, Zepto’s innovative approach positions it as a leader in the grocery delivery sector, capitalizing on the growing demand for faster delivery services in India.

Zepto launched Zepto Atom, a paid analytics tool to help brands understand customer behaviour in real time in May 2025. Co-founder Aadit Palicha announced it on LinkedIn, calling it a big step for how brands grow on the platform.

Zepto Atom builds on the free Brand Portal, adding advanced features like:

Live PIN-code level maps to track performance area by area
Real-time data on sales, views, and conversions, updated every minute

With these tools, brands can improve pricing, ads, and stock where needed, helping them grow faster.

Zepto – Industry

As per IMARC Group’s analysis, the Indian online grocery market attained a value of $6.8 billion in 2022. Looking ahead, the market is anticipated to experience substantial growth and is projected to reach $37.0 billion by 2028. This growth trajectory indicates a remarkable compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 31.3% during the period from 2023 to 2028.

The sector has expanded in prevalence in the past few years as a result of evolving customer habits, growing urbanization, and a tech-savvy generation that prefers to make online purchases.

As per RedSeer, India’s quick commerce market is set for impressive growth, projected to expand by 10–15 times by 2025 and reach a market size of nearly $5.5 billion. This substantial growth is expected to surpass other markets, including China, in terms of quick commerce adoption.

As their standard of living increases and their daily schedules get tighter, consumers are flocking to customized and convenient internet platforms for grocery shopping instead of walking down to the local shops.

Following the COVID-19 pandemic, the popularity of online grocery delivery became increasingly evident. As a consequence of social distancing constraints, consumers are converting to online grocery shopping, which is not only convenient but also safer.

Zepto – Founders and Team

Aadit Palicha and Kaivalya Vohra, both 19-year-old childhood pals, founded Zepto after walking out of Stanford University’s renowned computer science department to return to their home country, India, and start up a business. The Zepto company began its operations in April 2021.

Kaivalya Vohra

Kaivalya Vohra is the CTO and Co-Founder of Zepto. He was also the founder and CTO of KiranaKart. He also attended Stanford University to pursue a degree in Computer Science, but like Aadit, he decided to leave the university. Kaivalya, along with Aadit, participated in Y Combinator as well.

Aadit Palicha

Aadit Palicha is the CEO and Co-Founder of Zepto. He was also the founder and CEO of KiranaKart. After completing an IB diploma from GEMS Education in Mathematics and Computer Science, Palicha then went for a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from Stanford University, however, he quit the program in the middle to launch his firm. Aadit then completed Y Combinator Grade: W21 and started with PryvaSee as a Project Lead. Aadit Palicha then founded GoPool, his first startup, when he was just 17. He left the same in April 2020 and founded KiranaKart and then Zepto.

Zepto – Startup Story

Many of us have “startup ideas,” but even the most creative among us struggle to see them through. Palicha and Vohra had both enrolled at Stanford to earn a Computer Science degree but had dropped out to follow their business passions instead.

The story of Zepto started during the COVID-19 outbreak. The concept for Zepto sprang from the limitations of their houses. A surge in demand for delivery services meant that groceries and other necessities would arrive in a couple of days, creating a void for quick delivery. As a result, Zepto was created with all this insight.

These teenagers were abruptly detained, because of Covid norms, detained in their Mumbai homes after significant collaboration on many projects, including a ride-hailing commuting app for kids. Even while grocery delivery, which was deemed important by local authorities, was still permitted across much of the nation as the virus spread, the duo battled to get their provisions as the illness expanded.

While Zepto is the focus of attention, Palicha and Vohra’s first venture, KiranaKart, did not receive the same acclaim. Zepto, on the other hand, is inspired by KiranaKart. KiranaKart, as its name implies, was a supermarket delivery service. It had made arrangements with Kirana merchants to provide groceries in 45 minutes or less. A $730,000 pre-seed round was led by Global Founders Capital, 2 AM Ventures, Contrary Capital, and angel investors. At the time, Vohra and Palicha planned to make the first 1.5 lakh deliveries for INR 1.

Zepto – Mission and Vision

As two bachelors living alone, the founders found it most difficult to obtain food, therefore, they focused their applications on grocery delivery. So, whereas KiranaKart, their first startup, tried to make grocery delivery easier for Kiranas, Zepto aims to shorten delivery times.

Zepto – Name, Logo, and Tagline

Zepto Logo

The firm, which uses the term “Zepto” to denote “a factor of 10⁻²¹, i.e. 0.000000000000000000001,” named after a minuscule unit of time, offers a 10-minute grocery delivery service, surpassing numerous well-funded competitors.

Zepto’s tagline says, “Groceries delivered in 10 minutes”.

Zepto – Business and Revenue Model

Zepto delivers groceries in ten minutes through a system of dark storefronts and mini-warehouses, on up to 90% of orders. Zepto works in the quick commerce segment of India. It is designed to be customer-centric and built around the instant service model.

To ensure a flawless delivery experience, Aadit says that their average delivery time is 8 minutes and 47 seconds. Through a chain of dark stores or retail distribution centers, the Mumbai-based company employs a hotspot method to cater largely to digital purchases.

A dark store is a tiny neighborhood storehouse that customers cannot visit but purchase online to get packaged delivery. While dark stores are not new to the Indian industry, Aadit believes that the idea has yet to be completely explored. Population, traffic dynamics, topography, road patterns, weather conditions, last-mile operational improvement, real estate prices, and other geographic data and local intelligence aid Zepto in optimizing its connectivity. Furthermore, the startup’s dark warehouses and cool rooms are custom-designed to satisfy particular criteria such as ease of travel, allowing packers to move as swiftly as possible to fill orders.

Location intelligence and geographic data, such as topography, population, road patterns, traffic dynamics, weather, last-mile supply availability, real estate values, and so on, are said to help Zepto optimize its network.

Zepto – Funding and Investors

Zepto, the Mumbai-based quick commerce unicorn, achieved unicorn status in August 2023 after raising $200 million in a Series E funding round, which brought its valuation to $1.4 billion. This milestone marked the end of India’s 11-month unicorn drought. The Series E round was led by The StepStone Group, with participation from Goodwater Capital and existing investors.

In June 2024, Zepto raised $665 million, which valued the company at $3.6 billion. Just a few months later, on August 30, 2024, Zepto raised $340 million in Series G funding, which increased its valuation to $5 billion. The Series G round was led by General Catalyst, with Dragon Fund and Epiq Capital joining as new investors. Existing backers such as StepStone, Lightspeed, DST, and Contrary also increased their investments, reflecting strong confidence in Zepto’s growth potential.

In November 2024, Zepto raised another $350 million from a group of domestic investors, led by Motilal Oswal’s private wealth division, at a flat valuation of $5 billion. This brings the total funding raised by Zepto to $2 billion.

Zepto’s initial seed funding in September 2020 was led by Contrary.

Date	Round	Amount	Lead Investors
November 21, 2024	Series G	$350	Motilal Oswal Wealth
August 30, 2024	Series G	$340 million	General Catalyst, Mars Growth Capital
June 21, 2024	Series F	$665 million	Glade Brook Capital Partners, Nexus Venture Partners, StepStone Group
Nov 8, 2023	Series E	$31.3 million	Goodwater Capital, Nexus Venture Partners
Aug 25, 2023	Series E	$200 million	StepStone Group
May 2, 2022	Series D	$200 million	Y Combinator Continuity Fund
Dec 20, 2021	Series C	$100 million	Y Combinator Continuity Fund
Oct 31, 2021	Series B	$60 million	Glade Brook Capital Partners
Mar 22, 2021	Series A	$6.5 million	Nexus Venture Partners
Sep 1, 2020	Pre Seed Round	–	Contrary

Zepto – Shareholding

Zepto shareholding pattern as of October 2024 (source: Tracxn):

Zepto Shareholders	Percentage
Aadit Palicha	0.9%
Kaivalya Vohra	0.7%
Nexus Venture Partners	18.6%
Glade Brook Capital	10.3%
StepStone Group	9.8%
Y Combinator	8.7%
LGF Scale I	7.8%
Rocket Internet	3.0%
General Catalyst	4.1%
Goodwater Capital	1.8%
Razor’s Edge Ventures	1.6%
Contrary	1.6%
Kaiser Permanente	2.3%
avra	1.3%
SpringBlue Capital	1.0%
Lightspeed Venture Partners	0.8%
Global Founders Capital	0.8%
Crimson	0.5%
Vanderbilt University	0.3%
Mangum	0.3%
Bayhouse Capital	0.2%
Mehta Ventures	<0.1%
Contrary Capital	<0.1%
Zpt Holdings	2.1%
AZ04	1.4%
Kiranakart SPV	0.6%
Sayacorps	0.4%
C Opportunities	0.1%
Jung Lish Lee	2.3%
Oliver Jung	0.7%
Oleg Wladimir Nicolas Tscheltzoff	0.2%
Aditi Javesh Jhaveri	<0.1%
Manoj Chawla	<0.1%
Kavit Dilip Palicha	8.0%
Jaideep Vohra	6.7%
Other Investors	1.0%

Among the shareholders, Nexus Venture Partners holds the largest stake, holding 18.6% of Zepto. Other prominent owners of Zepto include Y Combinator, Glade Brook Capital, StepStone Group, and co-founders Aadit Palicha (along with Kavit Dilip Palicha) and Kaivalya Vohra (along with Jaideep Vohra), among others.

Zepto – IPO

Zepto plans to go public in 2025. To prepare for its IPO, the company set up a new entity, Zepto Marketplace Private Limited, in October 2024 to simplify its operations. Zepto currently operates under a B2B model, sourcing products directly from brands and selling them to its partner companies, which then distribute the products to customers under a licensing agreement.

In January 2025, Zepto completed its domicile shift from Singapore to India ahead of its IPO, which is now expected to raise between $800 million and $1 billion, including secondaries. Initially, the company targeted a $450 million primary capital raise.

Zepto has hired Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and Axis Capital as advisors for the IPO. This marks a key step in its journey as a leader in the quick commerce industry.

Zepto – Growth and Revenue

Zepto has seen impressive growth, serving 10 major cities with 1,000+ employees. They deliver more than 5,000 products, revolutionizing the Indian grocery segment with 10-minute delivery, advanced tech, and optimized centers.

Engineering, operations, marketing, and financial positions are also available at Zepto. Palicha claims that month-over-month growth is 200%, with a monthly retention rate of 78%.

“We are looking at a pretty crazy runrate,” he said. “In the past one and a half months, we have grown our business by 10 times. And now we are working to grow another 10 times by February or March,” said Palicha in December 2021.

Zepto, when it was a five-month-old startup, had secured a valuation of $570 million after raising $100 million in a Series C round headed by Y Combinator’s Continuity Fund, which was a 2X increase from its previous valuation of $60 million only 45 days before that. Zepto raised another round led by Y Combinator to lift its valuation further to $900 million, so there is certainly impressive growth that the company has received in funding as well.

Another positive development for Zepto has been the expertise it has been able to acquire. Plenty of well-known senior executives from Uber, Flipkart, Dream11, Amazon, and Pharmeasy have joined the team.

According to Palicha, one of the reasons why several entrepreneurs have chosen Zepto is that it has enabled individuals who had transferred from Mumbai to Bangalore to come back to their homes. He says, nevertheless, that the startup’s rapid development, rigorous execution, and ambitions have captivated others who share his interests. “We’ve been able to walk the walk,” he said.

“They originally launched with a different model, swiftly pivoted to quick commerce in August 2021 and are now adding 100,000 new customers every week, 60% of them women. Their attention to detail on the logistics experience is unparalleled and this has enabled them to scale to most major metros in just 5 months. Simply put, we’re confident Zepto will win in this space over the long-term,” said Anu Hariharan, a partner at Y Combinator, in a statement.

Zepto has demonstrated significant growth in recent times, with the majority of its dark stores now operating profitably. According to co-founder and CEO Aadit Palicha, Zepto has successfully established its presence in major metro cities in India with over 300-400 dark stores. Impressively, approximately 50–60 percent of these dark stores have started generating cash flows, indicating the effectiveness of Zepto’s business model and operational strategies. This noteworthy achievement highlights Zepto’s commitment to sustainable growth and profitability in the fiercely competitive quick-commerce industry.

Zepto Financials

Zepto Financials	FY22	FY23	FY24
Operating Revenue	INR 142.3 crore	INR 2,026 crore	INR 4,454 crore
Expenses	INR 532.7 crore	INR 3,350 crore	INR 5,754 crore
Profit/Loss	INR 390.3 crore (loss)	INR 1,272 crore (loss)	INR 1,248 crore (loss)

In FY23, the quick-commerce startup’s operating revenue stood at INR 2,026 crore. In FY24, Zepto’s operating revenue saw a growth of about 120%, reaching INR 4,454 crore.

Zepto’s losses saw a slight decrease of 2% in FY24, to INR 1,248.6 crore from INR 1,272 crore in FY23.

Expenses

In FY24, Zepto’s total expenses saw a massive rise of 71.6%, reaching INR 5,747 crore, up from INR 3,350 crore in FY23.

Zepto’s gross merchandise volume (GMV) surpassed $1 billion (INR 8,300 crore) in FY24, marking a significant milestone. The company also reported a 140% year-on-year growth, with 75% of its dark stores achieving full EBITDA positivity by May 2024.

Zepto – Challenges

Zepto has encountered some challenges lately, and in one of the recent ones, there were instances of founder and investor impropriety within the quick commerce delivery startup. Ansh Nanda, an alleged co-founder of the startup said that he was forced to relinquish his stakes in the startup by the other cofounders and by Nexus Ventures. This was carried forward by Nanda, who lodged an FIR against the cofounders of Zepto and the Nexus Ventures partner, Suvir Sujan. However, the co-founders responded to the same without much delay by approaching the Delhi High Court. Zepto is the third startup that is backed by Nexus and where one of the co-founders has been named in an FIR. YoloBus and Acko were two other companies that dealt with the same before.

Zepto – Controversies

A Delhi-based workers’ union, the Rajdhani App Workers Union (RAWU), has filed a complaint on 20th May, 2025, with the Delhi Labour Department against Zepto and its vendor, Kilton Geo Engineering Pvt. Ltd., alleging exploitative conditions for around 50 delivery workers recruited through Zepto’s Rural Mobilisation Program. The union claims workers were misled about wages, accommodation, and benefits, and faced wage deductions, poor living conditions, and unfulfilled promises of bonuses and free food. Zepto has responded by stating that it is investigating the matter and auditing vendors, while maintaining that the issue is localized and not representative of its broader operations.

Zepto – Advertisements and Social Media Campaigns

Zepto’s marketing strategy has been a key driver of its rapid growth in the quick-commerce industry. The creative brilliance of L&K Saatchi & Saatchi was evident in three earlier ads promoting Zepto’s products and services.

Building on this success, Zepto continued to impress with new campaigns featuring celebrated singers like Kailash Kher, Shankar Mahadevan, and Usha Uthup during the IPL season of 2022. These unique and melodic campaigns resonated with audiences, boosting Zepto’s visibility and brand appeal.

Furthermore, the launch of the “Nahi Milega” campaign in March 2023, featuring the character “Uncle Ji,” highlighted unlimited free deliveries, solidifying Zepto’s position as the go-to platform for ultra-fast and cost-effective grocery delivery. With an innovative approach and successful marketing initiatives, Zepto has emerged as a leading player in the competitive quick-commerce industry, catering to the needs of time-conscious consumers.

Zepto Marketing Campaign | Nahi Milega

Zepto – Competitors

Many businesses compete with Zepto and have already been driving fast-paced delivery of groceries like:

Dunzo is another startup, that uses its Xpress Mart dark shop network to deliver groceries in Bengaluru in 19 minutes and competes with Zepto.

Zepto – Future Plans

Zepto currently operates in major cities across India, including Bengaluru, Mumbai, Delhi, Gurugram, Noida, Ghaziabad, Hyderabad, Chennai, Pune, and Kolkata. The company has ambitious plans to multiply its dark stores and expand its delivery network with profitability in focus.

Zepto has sped up its store expansion, increasing its target from 700 to 1,200 stores by March 2025. With over 650 outlets in operation as of January 2025, the company is strengthening its presence in the quick commerce space.

A new key driver of Zepto’s growth is its food and beverage division, Zepto Café, which is currently in 15% of its dark stores. With an estimated ARR of INR 160 crore, Zepto Café is expanding rapidly, adding over 100 outlets monthly and targeting an INR 1,000 crore revenue run rate by FY26.

The company is projecting gross sales of $5.5 billion in the final quarter of FY26, with an aim to achieve positive EBITDA (excluding ESOPs).

The ultimate goal is to become a publicly listed company. Co-founder and CEO, Aadit Palicha, has expressed optimism about Zepto’s IPO in 2025.

FAQs

What is Zepto?

Zepto is a startup based in Mumbai that offers a 10-minute grocery delivery service.

Who owns Zepto?

Zepto owners are Aadit Palicha and Kaivalya Vohra, two childhood friends.

Zepto started in which year?

Zepto was founded in September 2020 and began operations in April 2021.

How Zepto started?

Zepto was started in 2021 by Aadit Palicha and Kaivalya Vohra, two Stanford dropouts, to deliver groceries quickly. They began in Mumbai with a 10-minute delivery model, using dark stores to fulfill orders fast.

Which companies does Zepto compete with?

Swiggy Instamart, BigBasket, Blinkit, and Dunzo are some of the top competitors of Zepto.

How does Zepto delivery work?

Zepto delivers groceries in 10 minutes through its network of dark stores and micro-warehouses. The median delivery time is 8 minutes and 47 seconds, ensuring a swift and efficient delivery experience.

Is Zepto a unicorn startup?

Zepto became the first Indian unicorn startup in 2023 after raising a Series E round worth $200 million in August 2023. This round increased Zepto’s valuation to $1.4 billion.

Is Zepto publicly listed?

No, Zepto is planning to go public in 2025 with its IPO, which is expected to raise between $800 million and $1 billion.

Which is Zepto parent company?

Zepto parent company is Kiranakart Technologies Private Limited.

May 21, 2025