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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Porsche car crash case exposed systemic corruption: Pune police commissioner
Pune (PTI): The Porsche car crash case exposed "systemic corruption," but the Pune Police have successfully uncovered the nexus behind the replacement of the accused juvenile's blood samples with those of his mother, Police Commissioner Amitesh Kumar said on Wednesday.
The case made national headlines after the high-end car allegedly driven by the 17-year-old boy in an inebriated state mowed down motorcycle-borne IT professionals Anish Awadhiya and Ashwini Costa in the Kalyani Nagar area on May 19 last year.
"Last year’s Porsche car crash case sparked widespread discussions about Pune’s deteriorating social culture, alleged police corruption, and several other issues. Amid all the criticism, one positive aspect stood out: the case exposed systemic corruption.
"It also demonstrated how the police, working within the same system, managed to uncover the entire nexus behind the replacement of the juvenile’s blood samples with those of his mother," Kumar said while addressing Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyan, an initiative aimed at raising awareness against drug addiction, organised at Modern College.
He added that the juvenile has been released since he was a minor.
"However, his mother has remained in jail for over a year, and his father continues to be behind bars. Doctors from Sassoon Hospital and others involved are also still in jail," Kumar said, adding that one mistake by a child, and an attempt by his parents to cover it up, destroyed an entire family.
He said the police will follow up on this case until every guilty person is punished.
Kumar also appealed to students to stay away from intoxicating substances and drugs.
"You are not only endangering your own life but also putting your entire family at risk," he said, urging the youth not to fall prey to harmful addictions.
"Instead, stand strong and act as a force to ensure that drug abuse is curbed in your surroundings. We assure you of full police support," he added.
He further stated that if youth from all colleges unite and decide to end this menace, "the day is not far when not even one gram of drug will be sold in the city".
The investigation into the car crash had revealed that the juvenile's blood samples were replaced with those of his mother.
The roles of Dr Ajay Taware, head of the forensic department, Medical Officer Shreehari Halnor, and a hospital staffer came under scrutiny.
While the mother is currently out on bail, the juvenile’s father, Sassoon Hospital doctors Taware and Halnor, staffer Atul Ghatkamble, two middlemen, Ashpak Makandar and Amar Gaikwad, and others remain in jail for the alleged blood sample swap.
