'Lies Are Not Acceptable...' - Who Is Zepto CEO Aadit Palicha Calling Out?

Zepto’s Co-founder and CEO, Aadit Palicha, has spoken out against what he claims is a smear campaign by the CFO of a rival company. 

In a detailed LinkedIn post, Palicha accused the individual of spreading false information about Zepto to investors and the media.

What Aadit Palicha Said

He wrote, "Over the past few days, the CFO of one of our competitors has been trying to build a smear campaign against Zepto... giving out false numbers/Excel sheets... and paying bots on social media to spread a negative narrative."

Palicha said this behavior was beneath the standards expected from a senior executive at a respected company. He suggested the rival CFO was “getting nervous” about Zepto’s rapid improvements in profitability.

Rather than just responding to the claims, Palicha shared detailed business updates to back Zepto’s performance. He stated that Zepto’s Gross Order Value (GOV) has grown from Rs 750 crore per month in May 2024 to Rs 2,400 crore per month in May 2025.

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EBITDA and Cash Burn Improvements

“Our EBITDA has improved by 20 absolute percentage points... and our cash burn is down approximately 65%,” Palicha added.

Despite improving profitability, Zepto continues to grow. The company saw about 20% growth in GOV between January and May 2025, with 4-5% month-on-month growth.

Palicha also addressed rumours about store closures, “We are not planning a large-scale rationalisation of stores. On the contrary, we are ramping up store launches,” he clarified.

Dark Store Expansion, Not Rationalisation

He also assured that most of Zepto’s dark stores are expected to become EBITDA-positive by the next quarter and said the company’s overall profitability is very close to breakeven.

Zepto, he said, has about Rs 7,445 crore in net cash and years of runway left, based on current cash burn.

“We have an excellent finance and controllership team… with no material qualifications or variations,” Palicha noted.

Ending on a firm note, he said, “I’m okay with healthy/aggressive competitive talk, but lies are not acceptable. It’s best for all of us to simply focus on execution.”

Zepto, the fast-growing quick commerce startup launched in 2020, has quickly made a mark in the grocery delivery space. Although Zomato led Blinkit pioneered quick commerce, and Swiggy’s Instamart is a key competitor, Zepto has managed to grab significant consumer attention and market share in a short time.