Instant grocery delivery startup Zepto explores pharmacy delivery service

“There will be a lot of innovation that will need to be done in the space. This is something we will focus on in the medium to long term and probably not in the short term,” he added.

The Covid-19 pandemic has triggered consolidation in the Indian healthcare industry and seen the entry of large players such as

and the Tata Group, which picked up
Netmeds and
1mg, respectively.

In April, Walmart-owned Flipkart launched a separate app, Flipkart Health+, for its healthcare business. The platform will operate on a marketplace model, in which third-party sellers will offer medicines and healthcare products,
as we reported in April.

ET
reported on March 31 that Flipkart had pumped in $143 million into its healthcare unit. The company also appointed former Apollo Health executive Prashant Jhaveri as chief executive of its healthcare business in March.

Founded by Stanford University dropouts Palicha and Kaivalya Vohra, Zepto launched its quick commerce service in April 2021. As a 17-year-old, Palicha built another startup, GoPool, a mobile application that helped parents in Dubai find and schedule carpools to school.

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The Mumbai-based startup recently
closed a $200 million funding round led by existing investors YC Continuity Fund, the growth-stage fund run by Silicon Valley’s famed accelerator Y Combinator.

Zepto’s valuation hit $900 million after the latest round. This is a nearly 60% jump compared to the previous fundraise in December last year when it was valued at $570 million.

The startup has raised $360 million till date, including the latest round.

ET
reported on February 15 that Zepto was planning to tap private labels to improve margins and lower cash burn.

Palicha said private labels would be available on the app in the next one or two quarters. Meanwhile, it is piloting a service to deliver coffee, tea, and other café items in 10-minutes across select areas in Mumbai.