Zepto (Zepto Limited)
Founders
Aadit Palicha, Kaivalya Vohra · Founded 2021 · HQ today: Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
Zepto was founded by Aadit Palicha, Kaivalya Vohra in 2021 in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. It is now led by Aadit Palicha.
Aadit Palicha and Kaivalya Vohra were school friends from Mumbai who enrolled at Stanford University and then left to start a company. In 2020 they started KiranaKart, which delivered groceries from local kirana shops, before shifting in 2021 to company-run dark stores built for fast picking and short delivery distances. That model launched as Zepto in 2021. The company's legal name, KiranaKart Technologies, reflected this origin until it became Zepto Limited ahead of its IPO.
Grew up in Mumbai and enrolled at Stanford University before leaving to start a company.
Aadit Palicha co-founded KiranaKart in 2020 and Zepto in 2021 with Kaivalya Vohra, and has led the company as CEO since its launch. He led its fundraising, including rounds at $3.6 billion, $5 billion and $7 billion valuations, and its preparations for an IPO. He did not offer shares in the proposed OFS in the 2026 draft prospectus. Aadit Palicha was born in 2002.
A school friend of Aadit Palicha from Mumbai who also enrolled at Stanford University before leaving to co-found the company.
Kaivalya Vohra co-founded KiranaKart and then Zepto with Aadit Palicha and has led its technology work. He is one of the company's promoters named in the 2026 IPO filings and, like Palicha, did not offer shares in the proposed OFS. Kaivalya Vohra was born in 2003.
Aadit Palicha
Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer
Has led Zepto since launch, growing it to ~$2.62 billion (₹22,624 crore) in FY26 revenue.
Kaivalya Vohra
Co-Founder
As Co-Founder and CTO (dropping out of Stanford at age 18), he provides the absolute critical technical brilliance required to make the massively unprofitable 'quick commerce' model highly efficient.
Zepto was co-founded by Aadit Palicha and Kaivalya Vohra, two childhood friends who grew up in Dubai and partnered to revolutionize grocery delivery in India.
Palicha and Vohra grew up together in Dubai, attended school together, and shared an early passion for software engineering, mathematics, and startup entrepreneurship.
Both were accepted into Stanford University's elite computer science undergraduate program in 2020, but opted to take a leave of absence and ultimately drop out to build their startup full-time.
The founders were accepted into Y Combinator's accelerator program with their early Kiranakart concept, using the mentorship and investor network to refine the 10-minute dark store model.
As CTO, Kaivalya Vohra designed Zepto's proprietary dark store operating software, building algorithms for real-time inventory tracking, batch dispatching, and rider routing.
Critics believed 10-minute delivery was an unsustainable gimmick, but the founders demonstrated that dense dark store networks reduced delivery costs compared to distant central warehouses.
When Zepto achieved a $1.4 billion unicorn valuation in August 2023, Aadit Palicha was 21 years old and Kaivalya Vohra was 20, making them the youngest unicorn founders in Indian history.
The founders cultivated a high-intensity, data-obsessed corporate culture modeled on early Silicon Valley startups, characterized by flat hierarchies, rapid prototyping, and extreme ownership.
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