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Key Points

Aadit Palicha, CEO of Zepto, has publicly accused the CFO of a rival company of launching a smear campaign against Zepto. He claims this includes spreading false information to investors and using paid social media bots. Palicha emphasizes Zepto's rapidly improving financial metrics and urges his competitors to engage in honest competition. He expresses hope that rivalry remains professional and focuses on execution rather than deceptive tactics.

Key Points: Aadit Palicha Accuses Rival CFO of Zepto Smear Campaign

  • Aadit Palicha claims smear campaign by rival CFO
  • Allegations of fake data and social media bots
  • Advocates for competitive but honest dialogue
2 min read

Zepto CEO accuses rival company's CFO of targeting them with a smear campaign

Zepto CEO Aadit Palicha accuses rival CFO of targeting them with a baseless smear campaign, urging a focus on execution.

"These calls from you are only making it clearer to the investor community that we are a strong competitor. - Aadit Palicha"

New Delhi, May 26

Aadit Palicha, the CEO and Co-founder of quick delivery platform Zepto, has alleged that the chief financial officer (CFO) of a rival company is running a smear campaign against them over the past few days.

In a LinkedIn post, Palicha said the spam campaign 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".

He, however, did not reveal the name of the rival firm. In the quick commerce space, Zepto competes with Blinkit (owned by Eternal which was earlier Zomato), Swiggy Instamart, Flipkart Minutes and Tata BigBasket, among others.

"Candidly, this episode is below the stature expected of the CFO of a high-quality company, and makes it obvious that they are starting to get nervous about how fast Zepto's EBITDA is improving," said Palicha.

He further stated that Zepto has grown from approximately 750 crore of gross order value (GOV) per month in May 2024 to 2,400 crores of GOV per month in May 2025.

"Our definition of GOV has Fruits and Vegetables at selling price and includes Ad Revenue. Our EBITDA has improved by 20 absolute percentage points (2,000 basis points) from January 2025 to May 2025, and is approaching single-digit territory. Our cash burn is down approximately 65 per cent over that same period," said Zepto CEO.

Palicha said they expects to have the vast majority of their dark stores fully EBITDA positive (including backend supply chain costs, customer support, last mile and all fixed/variable dark store costs) by next quarter.

"As of the beginning of this quarter, we have approximately 7,445 crores of Net Cash in the bank (fully reconciled to bank statements). With our current cash burn trajectory, we have many years of runway," he mentioned.

He then hoped that "this CFO in question stops this activity".

"I'm okay with healthy/aggressive competitive talk, but lies are not acceptable. Frankly, these calls from you are only making it clearer to the investor community that we are a strong competitor. It's best for all of us to simply focus on execution," Palicha added.

- IANS

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Reader Comments

R
Rahul K.
This is why I prefer Zepto over others - they're transparent about their numbers. If rivals have to resort to dirty tricks, it shows who's winning the quick commerce race. Their 20% EBITDA improvement is impressive! 💯
P
Priya M.
Corporate wars getting ugly! But why not name the rival company? If allegations are true, naming would stop such practices. As a customer, I just want good service - don't care about their boardroom battles.
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Arjun S.
Zepto's growth from 750cr to 2400cr GOV is remarkable. But the CEO should provide more evidence before making serious allegations. This could backfire if not substantiated properly. Indian startups need healthy competition, not mudslinging.
S
Shreya V.
Typical corporate drama! 😏 But seriously, if true, this is very unethical. I use Zepto daily for groceries - their 10-minute delivery is a game changer. Hope they focus on maintaining service quality despite these distractions.
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Vikram J.
The quick commerce space is getting intense! With Zepto's numbers looking so strong, no wonder competitors are nervous. But using bots and false info? That's just pathetic. Hope SEBI looks into such malpractices.
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Neha T.
As an investor, I appreciate Zepto's transparency about their finances. 7445cr net cash is substantial! But public accusations without naming the rival seems unprofessional. Either provide proof or handle it privately.

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