'Stop the Lies': Zepto CEO Aadit Palicha Fires Back At Rival CFO's Smear Campaign
Palicha candidly criticized the competitor's CFO, stating that these actions were beneath the expected standards of a high-quality company.
Zepto CEO: Aadit Palicha, the Co-Founder and CEO of Zepto, recently addressed a smear campaign initiated by the CFO of a competing company on LinkedIn. The campaign involved, he said, 'includes calling our investors to make wild allegations about us with no empirical evidence, giving out false numbers/Excel sheets on Zepto through sources known to journalists, and paying bots on social media to spread a negative narrative."
Palicha candidly criticized the competitor's CFO, stating that these actions were beneath the expected standards of a high-quality company. He suggested that the competitor's nervousness stemmed from Zepto's rapid improvement in EBITDA. To counteract any misinformation, Palicha provided transparent updates on Zepto's performance.
Performance Metrics
Zepto's Gross Order Value (GOV) has significantly increased from approximately 750 crores per month in May 2024 to 2,400 crores per month in May 2025.
The definition of GOV includes the selling price of fruits and vegetables and ad revenue.
advetisement
Financial Improvements
Zepto's EBITDA has improved by 20 absolute percentage points (2,000 basis points) from January 2025 to May 2025, approaching single-digit territory. The company's cash burn has reduced by around 65% over the same period. Despite the EBITDA improvements, Zepto's GOV has grown by roughly 20% during this time, representing an average monthly growth of 4% to 5%.
Future Projections
Zepto anticipates that most of its dark stores will be fully EBITDA positive by the next quarter, including all backend supply chain costs, customer support, last-mile, and fixed/variable store costs. The company also expects its overall EBITDA and Operating Cash Flow to be near breakeven within a few hundred basis points in the same period.
Financial Stability
Starting this quarter, Zepto has about 7,445 crores of Net Cash in the bank, fully reconciled with bank statements, ensuring many years of operational runway given the current cash burn rate.
Zepto boasts a top-tier finance and controllership team with best-in-class payment practices, vendor reconciliations, asset verification, internal audit systems, and a rigorous Big 4 statutory audit record without material qualifications or variations.
Contrary to rumors of large-scale store rationalization, Zepto is actually ramping up store launches.
Palicha hopes the competitor's CFO ceases these deceitful activities, emphasizing that while healthy competition is acceptable, lies are not. He believes these actions only underscore Zepto's strength and advises focusing on execution for the collective benefit.
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New Delhi, India, India
First Published:
May 26, 2025, 06:53 IST
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