IPO-Bound Zepto strengthens board with Bharti’s Akhil Gupta as Independent Director
The current board includes Zepto co-founders Aadit Palicha and Kaivalya Vohra, Anu Hariharan (founder of Avra), and Suvir Sujan (co-founder of Nexus Venture Partners).
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Quick commerce unicorn Zepto has appointed Akhil Gupta, vice chairman of Bharti Enterprises—the parent company of Bharti Airtel—as an independent director, ahead of its anticipated initial public offering (IPO) later this year.
Gupta, a telecom veteran who has played a key role in Bharti’s partnerships and public listings—including those of Bharti Airtel (2002), Bharti Infratel (2012), and Airtel Africa (2019)—is expected to bring strategic depth and IPO expertise to Zepto’s board.
The current board includes Zepto co-founders Aadit Palicha and Kaivalya Vohra, Anu Hariharan (founder of Avra), and Suvir Sujan (co-founder of Nexus Venture Partners).
This high-profile appointment is part of a broader push by Zepto to fortify leadership ahead of its market debut. In addition to onboarding experienced advisors, the company has been actively reshaping its senior management—promoting insiders like Devendra Meel to Chief Business Officer and elevating others into CTO and CGO roles.
However, Zepto has also witnessed several top-level exits, including CMO Amritansu Nanda, CBO Viral Jhaveri, and VP of Growth Manik Oberoi, among others, signaling ongoing churn amid its rapid scale-up.
Financially, Zepto is in a strong position. After shifting its base back to India from Singapore, it raised $1.35 billion across three funding rounds in just five months. Investors include Glade Brook Capital, StepStone, General Catalyst, Motilal Oswal, and Ranjan Pai’s Claypond Capital. The company is also in talks to raise an additional $300 million in a secondary round, aiming to attract more domestic mutual funds to bolster its IPO-readiness.
Zepto’s gross merchandise value (GMV) has touched $4 billion, representing a 300% year-on-year growth, placing it firmly in competition with Blinkit (Zomato), Swiggy Instamart, Flipkart Minutes, and Tata BigBasket in India’s $6 billion quick commerce market—expected to hit $25–30 billion in the coming years.
As the battle for dominance in this red-hot sector intensifies, Zepto’s latest board addition signals its readiness to play the long game.
