Team Startupcity

• Zepto is closing a $450 million round (primary + secondary), valuing the company around $7 billion. The funds will help reduce cash burn, allow early investors to exit, and build a $1 billion war chest for future competition and potential IPO.
• Indian GCCs are rapidly expanding AI capabilities, shifting from just execution to innovation hubs. VCs are hiring experienced startup leaders to better bridge capital with execution, improving investment quality.
• Due to poor infrastructure, flooding, and traffic on Outer Ring Road, startups like BlackBuck are moving to areas like North Bengaluru and Whitefield for cheaper rents, better connectivity, and improved infrastructure.

​Expeditious commerce company Zepto is close to a new round of around $450 million, which would bring its post-money valuation to a total of around $7 billion. The new funds will be a combination of primary infusion (around $350-380 million) and secondary sales of shares worth $70-100 million, which will allow early-stage investors to exit and also help shore up Zepto's balance sheet.

The round is being spearheaded by U.S. pension fund Calpers, as well as earlier supporters such as General Catalyst, Avra, Lightspeed, StepStone, and Nexus Venture Partners. Zepto, which has been able to sharply slow its cash burn, plans to have a war chest of $1 billion to prepare it for future competition and even a possible public listing.

At the same time, Indian global capability centres (GCCs) are expanding their AI operations aggressively, with recruitment increasing by 131 percent in the sector. These hubs are not just offshoring work but increasingly product-level innovation, converting India's position from execution center to AI strategy hub.

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To become more investment-focused, most venture capital firms are now employing proven startup operators founders and senior leaders who shift into VC roles in order to close the gap between capital and execution. These investors add domain knowledge, founder empathy, and operating discipline, allowing investors to make better bets.

In Bengaluru, the city's legendary Outer Ring Road (ORR), which was once the backbone of tech corridors, is buckling under crumbling infrastructure, perennial flooding, and congested traffic. Several startups are now considering moving to North Bengaluru and Whitefield, citing cheaper rents (20-25 percent lower), better connectivity (metro lines and airport proximity), and changing infrastructure.

Logistics platform BlackBuck, for instance, has pulled out of operations near Bellandur on the ORR and is shifting its presence to Whitefield and Koramangala. These changes are part of a larger trend: companies are moving nearer to infrastructure hubs instead of depending on a dilapidated ring road that generates much of Bengaluru's tech-fuelled income.