# Aadit Palicha

> Aadit Palicha is the co-founder and CEO of Zepto, the Indian quick-commerce company he started with childhood friend Kaivalya Vohra in 2021. Their grocery-delivery experiments in Mumbai evolved from WhatsApp orders and KiranaKart into a network of dark stores built around fast fulfillment. As Zepto has grown, Palicha has focused publicly on execution, costs, customer experience and the path to a stock-market listing.

- **Role:** Co-founder and CEO at Zepto
- **Organizations:** Zepto, KiranaKart, Y Combinator
- **Nationality:** Indian
- **Education:** International Baccalaureate diploma, GEMS Modern Academy, Computer science studies; did not complete degree, Stanford University, W21 startup program, Y Combinator
- **Known for:** Co-founded Zepto and led it as CEO from its 2021 launch., Helped develop a dark-store grocery model after testing different delivery windows with customers., Zepto attained a $1.4 billion valuation in 2023 and a $5 billion valuation in 2024.

## Career timeline

- **2020** — With Kaivalya Vohra, began testing grocery delivery in Mumbai during the pandemic, initially through a WhatsApp group and then KiranaKart.
- **2021** — Co-founded Zepto; opened its first dark store in Bandra, Mumbai, on July 14.
- **2023** — Zepto reached a $1.4 billion valuation in a funding round.
- **2024** — Zepto raised funding at a $5 billion valuation.
- **2025** — Discussed the need for lower costs and acknowledged that some delivery-fee and pricing experiments were a mistake.
- **2026** — Told employees the company was targeting a later stock-market listing after improving financial metrics.

## Achievements

- Co-founded Zepto and led it as CEO from its 2021 launch.
- Helped develop a dark-store grocery model after testing different delivery windows with customers.
- Zepto attained a $1.4 billion valuation in 2023 and a $5 billion valuation in 2024.
- Celebrated Zepto’s 100th store opening in Mumbai in a public post.

## Latest updates

- **2026-09** — Zepto published a self-audit certificate concerning dark patterns on its investor-relations site.
- **2026-08** — Zepto announced a primary pre-IPO private placement.
- **2026-07** — Palicha told employees Zepto was targeting a listing in two to three quarters after improving financial metrics, according to Moneycontrol.

## Links

- LinkedIn: https://in.linkedin.com/in/aadit-palicha
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/aadit_palicha

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/aadit-palicha
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-09-29