Zepto a startup founded by teens, valued at $570 million

Zepto, an instant grocery delivery startup founded by two teenagers, raised $100 million in a funding led by Y Combinator, adding it’s valuation to $570 million within five months of starting services in India’s commerce segment.

The startup’s newest funding comes 45 days after a previous capital raise of $60 million at $225 million valuation, Aadit Palicha, co-founder and chief executive officer, said in an interview.

Online grocery delivery is taking off in India, a $1 trillion retail market Zepto is competing against startups like SoftBank Group Corp.-backed Blinkit, Google-backed Dunzo and Naspers Ltd.-backed Swiggy, as well as the likes of Amazon.com Inc. and Walmart Inc.-backed Flipkart.

Zepto is growing quickly and its core unit economics are strong, Delivering within 10 minutes is “game changing,” said co-founder Vohra, the chief technology officer. The new capital will allow the Mumbai-based startup to grow its team and expand to more cities.

The firm has 100 so-called dark stores, or micro-warehouses, within high-demand neighborhoods and uses technology to perform tasks such as deciding store locations, placement of products and mapping out delivery routes to avoid traffic congestion. It now delivers over 2,500 items including fresh produce, cooking essentials, snacks and beverages, personal care items and home cleaning products.