Zepto CEO accuses rival CFO of smear campaign, cites rapid growth amid allegations
New Delhi: Aadit Palicha, the CEO and Co-founder of quick commerce platform Zepto, has accused the chief financial officer (CFO) of a rival company of orchestrating a smear campaign aimed at maligning Zepto’s reputation.
In a LinkedIn post, Palicha claimed that the alleged campaign involves “calling our investors to make wild allegations about us with no empirical evidence, giving out false numbers and Excel sheets on Zepto through sources known to journalists, and paying bots on social media to spread a negative narrative.” However, he did not disclose the name of the competing firm.
Zepto, which competes in the quick commerce space with players like Blinkit (owned by Eternal, formerly Zomato), Swiggy Instamart, Flipkart Minutes, and Tata BigBasket, has seen significant growth in recent months.
“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,” Palicha stated.
Highlighting Zepto’s recent performance, Palicha said the company has grown from approximately ₹750 crore in monthly gross order value (GOV) in May 2024 to ₹2,400 crore in May 2025. He added that the company’s definition of GOV includes the selling price of fruits and vegetables as well as ad revenue.
Zepto’s EBITDA, according to Palicha, has improved by 20 absolute percentage points from January to May 2025, and is approaching single-digit territory. Additionally, the company’s cash burn has reportedly decreased by nearly 65% in the same period.
Palicha further mentioned that Zepto expects the majority of its dark stores to be fully EBITDA-positive — inclusive of backend supply chain, customer support, last mile, and other fixed/variable store costs — by the next quarter.
“As of the beginning of this quarter, we have approximately ₹7,445 crore of net cash in the bank, fully reconciled to bank statements. With our current cash burn trajectory, we have many years of runway,” he said.
Expressing disapproval of the alleged tactics, Palicha added, “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.”
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Malayalam actor Rajesh Keshav in ICU after cardiac arrest
Kochi (PTI): Malayalam actor Rajesh Keshav is in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) after suffering a cardiac arrest on August 24, hospital sources said on Wednesday.
The 47-year-old actor, known for notable roles in various films and TV shows, was admitted to the hospital on Sunday night after collapsing at a city hotel.
He was first taken to the Emergency Department and successfully revived through immediate resuscitation, the hospital said in a statement.
Keshav was then shifted to the Cath Lab, where an emergency angioplasty was performed, it said, adding that he had suffered a prolonged cardiac arrest, which resulted in a moderate hypoxic injury.
The Neuro Wing is closely monitoring his neurological recovery, and encouraging signs of progress are being observed, they explained.
"At present, he remains in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) under advanced life support," the statement said.
His condition is serious but showing gradual improvement, with a multidisciplinary team of doctors actively involved in his treatment, it added.
