Zepto’s $1 billion IPO; Navi eyes fresh funds

Happy Tuesday! Quick commerce firm Zepto has filed updated draft papers for its $1 billion public offering. This and more in today’s ETtech Morning Dispatch.

Also in the letter:
■ Ex-Mirae India CEO's new fund
■ Articul8's heritage AI bet
■ Infineon deepens India ties

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Aadit Palicha, CEO, Zepto

Zepto has filed its updated prospectus for a Rs 9,500-crore IPO, setting the stage for one of the most closely watched new-age listings of the year and potentially targeting a July market debut.

Quick commerce first: The offering will make Zepto the first pure-play quick commerce company to list in India, joining Blinkit parent Eternal and Swiggy in the public markets.

Fuel for expansion: Most of the fresh capital will be used to expand the company’s dark store network, fund lease rentals, strengthen technology infrastructure and support customer acquisition initiatives.

Growth at scale: Zepto reported 75% growth in quarterly revenue to Rs 7,498 crore while narrowing losses. The company processed 210 million orders during the January-March quarter.

Also Read: Zepto trims cash burn before IPO, pitches profitability by FY29 to public market investors

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Navi Technologies founder Sachin Bansal

Navi Technologies is in talks to raise $250–300 million at a valuation of $1.8–2 billion, poised to be one of the largest fintech cheques of the year. The Sachin Bansal-promoted financial services firm, which shelved IPO plans last year, is now courting private capital from investors including Prosus and Accel Growth Fund.

What’s happening:

• Navi’s India lending engine is humming, with monthly disbursals of Rs 3,000–4,000 crore.
• The company now wants to take this playbook to Southeast Asia, expanding its lending footprint beyond India.
• This round will give Navi fresh growth capital, while Bansal is separately raising debt — backed by a personal guarantee — to double down on the lending business.

Why it matters:

• Navi had earlier tried to raise $200–300 million at a valuation of around $2 billion in 2024, but that effort fell through.
• The new deal comes after the RBI lifted restrictions on Navi Finserv in December 2024, ending a two-month lending ban over supervisory concerns.

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Ashish Dave, former head of Mirae Asset Venture Investments India, is launching Sanskrit Capital, a new venture fund targeting a corpus of Rs 700-1,000 crore.

Growth-stage focus: Based in Mumbai, the fund plans to back series B and C startups with established product-market fit, writing cheques of Rs 50-150 crore across fintech, consumer internet, healthcare, logistics and enterprise AI.

Local capital: Sanskrit Capital will lean on domestic family offices, entrepreneurs and founders for capital, highlighting how local money increasingly anchors new venture platforms.

Fundraising test: Dave is stepping into the market just as limited partners turn more selective, weighing AI and other thematic bets while scrutinising first-time managers more closely than ever.



Gagan Goyal, general partner at early-stage fund India Quotient, is moving on just months after the firm closed its fifth and largest fund at $129 million, according to people familiar with the matter.

Tell me more: Goyal led India Quotient's bets in IPO-bound KukuFM's parent, Kuku Technologies and accounting and inventory management company Vyapar, among others. He joined the firm in 2017 and became a general partner in 2021. His next act will likely be either launching a new venture or taking up an advisory role with startups.

Why it matters:

• Goyal’s exit adds India Quotient to the growing list of VC firms grappling with partner churn.
• Peak XV and Z47 have both seen senior investors move on over the past year, as partners peel off to run smaller vehicles, take operating roles, or build independent platforms amid uneven exits and increasingly selective LP appetite.

Also Read: Z47 managing director Tarun Davda to exit firm amid string of top-level departures at VC funds

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Articul8 CEO Arun Subramaniyan

Articul8, the enterprise AI startup spun out of Intel, plans to raise $30-50 million for an India-focused venture that will build AI models grounded in traditional knowledge systems, including Sanskrit.

Jargon buster: Heritage foundation models are AI systems trained on cultural, historical, and linguistic data to preserve and extend knowledge and traditions.

The plan:

• It aims to build and develop AI models trained on ancient Indian knowledge systems using Sanskrit and other classical Indian languages across text, voice and images.
• It is in early talks with investors, including Peak XV, Accel, family offices and strategic backers such as Aditya Birla Group.
• Develop multimodal AI models using Sanskrit and other classical Indian languages across text, voice and images.
• Articul8 has partnered exclusively with Madras Sanskrit College and plans to bring scholars and linguists into the model development loop.

Anirudha Taparia, CEO, Nexedge Capital

Wealth management startup Nexedge Capital is in talks to raise $25 million in a funding round, likely led by South Korea's Mirae Asset Venture Investment, sources said.

Tell me more: The deal would mark Nexedge's first institutional funding round.

The firm was founded by Aniruddha Taparia, a former cofounder and joint CEO of 360 One WAM. He left the wealth management company and launched Nexedge in March 2025.

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Infineon taps CDIL, Kaynes to strengthen India chip collab: German semiconductor company Infineon Technologies is expanding its engagement with India's nascent chip manufacturing ecosystem through partnerships with Mohali-based Continental Device India Ltd. (CDIL) and Sanand-based Kaynes Semicon, a senior executive said.

Infosys CFO Jayesh Sanghrajka joins Cars24 board: Cars24 has appointed Infosys chief financial officer (CFO) Jayesh Sanghrajka as an independent director on its board, the company announced on Monday.

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