Quick commerce startup Zepto has completed its shift of domicile from Singapore to India, joining a growing wave of Indian startups moving their headquarters back home ahead of public listings.
The transition marks the fastest domicile shift to India by a foreign-headquartered startup, according to Zepto’s chief financial officer Ramesh Bafna.
The Indian authorities recently made it easier and faster for companies to flip their headquarters back to the home nation. Some startups, including Pine Labs, have been in the process to shift domicile back to India for much longer.
The move follows similar relocations by other prominent Indian startups, including PhonePe’s shift from Singapore in 2022 and Groww’s transition from the US last year. Many Indian startups had originally set up holding companies overseas to access foreign capital more easily.
Many Indian startups registered in Singapore to keep open the option of a U.S. listing, which is not permitted for India-headquartered companies. Flipkart, Eruditus and Udaan are among those that chose this route.
The Indian public market has emerged as one of the world’s strongest in the past two years, leading many Indian founders to shift back the registered base to the country. Swiggy’s $1.35 billion listing in November was the largest IPO for a tech startup globally last year.
Zepto, which raised more than $1.35 billion last year and is currently valued at $5 billion, plans to file for an initial public offering later this year, where it will seek to raise as much as $1.1 billion, according to a source familiar with the talks. The startup, which delivers customers in urban Indian cities grocery in 10 minutes, is increasingly narrowing the lead Zomato-owned Blinkit commands in the market.
