Craving for an ice cream? Let’s Zepto!!
Fridge’s empty? Need to restock? Let’s Zepto!!
Friends are coming over and there’s no snacks? Let’s Zepto!!
In an era where everyone is rushing and wants to manage time, Zepto stands tall as a most helpful friend of all. Kaivalya Vohra and Aadit Palicha are the masterminds behind the e-commerce space, which has become our go to for every small need. By promising 15 minutes delivery of daily essentials and groceries they have changed how urban India shops today.
Early Life
Born in 2001, in Mumbai, India. Kaivalya Vohra spent his initial years in Dubai. He was a bright student and had interest in computer science and technology from an early age. After completion of his school, he was accepted into the prestigious Stanford University to pursue Computer science.
But he decided to take the road less travelled, and decided to drop out to build something meaningful, with Aadit Palicha.
Birth Of Zepto
After returning to Mumbai, in 2020, during COVID19 pandemic, Kaivalya and Aadit personally experienced the everyday struggles of grocery shopping.
Online orders got stuck for hours or even days. Inefficiencies such as constant delays, cancellations and missing items pushed them to consider the opportunity and solve it.
Zepto, born in 2021, was started as a problem-solving venture but quickly evolved into the idea of delivering groceries within 10 minutes.
Ever thought why they named the venture zepto??
When asked about it, they replied that the name zepto actually comes from a term ‘zeptosecond’, which is one of the smallest units of time, symbolising time, which was defined as the core promise of the company.
Working Of Zepto
Meticulously planned model is the driving force behind ultra-fast delivery of zepto.
Network of dark stores are operated by zepto, i.e., mini warehouses are placed strategically within city neighbourhoods. And these stores are well stocked with the products, which are highly demanded by the consumers in specific areas.
Secondly, Zepto’s powerful tech is backed by AI based demand forecasting, real time inventory management and smart routing for delivery management. All led by CTO (Chief Technology Officer), Kaivalya Vohra.
And because of hyper local delivery, orders are delivered within a 2.0-2.5 km radius, significantly affecting increase in efficiency and cutting down travel time. And above all Zepto’s optimized operations are designed to ensure that in 60 seconds all the three steps are done i.e., picking, packing and dispatch.
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Due to innovation, execution and market potential, Zepto quickly gained the attention of investors. Reportedly within just few months of its launch, the startup raised upto 16 million in Series A funding. And it was backed by the major investors such as Nexus Venture Partners, Glade Brook Capital, Y Combinator, and Stepstone Group.
Valued at over 1.4 billion, Zepto achieved unicorn status in 2023. And as of 2024, company’s valuation crossed 3.6 billion, making it one of most valuable quick commerce companies in India.
ZEPTO’S TECH ARCHITECT
The place of CEO was reserved by Aadit Palicha, who also handles the business side. And the technical mastermind behind Zepto’s strong infrastructure is Kaivalya Vohra.
He built a platform that scales rapidly without compromising the speed and service quality, just by his deep understanding of computer science and data driven approach.
He is accountable for designing Zepto’s backed system from scratch, creating warehouse management tools, building algorithms for demand forecasting and enhancing the app design for user experience.
As a tech architect he strongly believes that a strong tech foundation is a key to scale any modern business towards success.
Her Achievements
Kaivalya Vohra recognized among the Top gen z entrepreneurs in India has been honored as the Youngest Indian in IIFL Wealth Hurun India Rich list in 2022, with a net worth of 1000 crore.
And for his work in consumer tech, he was featured in Forbes Asia 30 under 30 list (2023). He is not only a young billionaire but one of India’s most promising tech leaders of the digital era.
Business Roadblocks
Like every business venture, Zepto also had to face challenges. Big players like Swiggy Instamart, BigBasket now, and Blinkit (owned by Zomato) soon came up in the quick commerce space as a strong competition. All offering the same 10–15-minute delivery target.
Competition was high but Zepto continued to grow, because of its focus towards tech, efficiency, and satisfaction of consumers.
Expansion
Zepto is already available in 20 Indian cities, including Delhi, Bengaluru, Pune, Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad and plans to expand its presence into Tier 2 cities (providing fast delivery to more peoples).
With the vision that quick commerce is the future of urban retail and not just trend, Kaivalya and Aadit are working to enhance automation in warehouses to reduce human error, expand product categories, and achieve profitability without compromising speed.
Entrepreneurial Values Of Kaivalya
Mixture of execution and deep-rooted focus on problem solving sets Kaivalya Vohra apart from other young entrepreneurs. His journey preaches us that age is just a number. He built a million-dollar company even after dropping out of Stanford at the age of 19.
Kaivalya’s work is a living proof that when small ideas are backed by technology and strong execution, it can even break traditional industries or methods. And he strongly believes the fact that vision is important but what shows the result is timely and precise execution.
He didn’t just complete his promise of delivering groceries in 15 mins but he delivered a new standard for e-commerce in India.
