Zepto's Aadit Palicha refutes cash burn assertions by Deepinder Goyal
What's the story
Aadit Palicha, CEO of Zepto, has disputed an assertion made by Deepinder Goyal, the CEO of Zomato. The disagreement stems from an Economic Times report where Goyal claimed Zepto's quarterly losses were higher than ₹2,500 crore. "We think the total burn for all companies in quick commerce is around ₹5,000 crore per quarter... Substantially more than half of this is by Zepto," Goyal had said. Responding to Goyal's claims, Palicha took to LinkedIn and clarified that his information was wrong.
Clarification
Here's what Palicha said
Palicha wrote on LinkedIn, "This statement is verifiably untrue and it will be clear when we publicly file our financial statements." Palicha's statement comes as a direct rebuttal to Goyal's claims about Zepto's financials.
No hard feelings
Acknowledging Goyal's good intentions
Despite the disagreement over financial figures, Palicha stressed that there were no hard feelings between him and Goyal. He said he believed Goyal had good intentions when making the statement. "I know Deepinder, and I know he has only good intentions; this quote could have been taken out of context or said as an honest mistake," Palicha said in his LinkedIn post.
Role model
Palicha admires Goyal's journey
Palicha also recognized Goyal's journey in the start-up ecosystem, saying it is a privilege to learn from and take on Zomato. "Deepinder started Zomato when I was five years old and he has become a role model for the Indian startup ecosystem," Palicha said.