Meet man, one of youngest Indian CEOs, has net worth of Rs 4300 crore, runs company worth Rs...

Aadit Palicha who was born in 2001, is making waves as one of the youngest CEOs of a billion-dollar Indian company. The ambitious entrepreneur, hailing from Mumbai, initially planned to pursue a computer science degree at the prestigious Stanford University in the United States after completing his schooling. However, the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted his plans, leading him to withdraw from the program. Fast forward two years, and Palicha has emerged as the CEO of Zepto, one of the fastest-growing online grocery delivery services in India, competing against major players like Tata-owned BigBasket, Mukesh Ambani's RIL-backed Dunzo, and even Jeff Bezos' Amazon.

Zepto has experienced a meteoric rise, achieving a valuation of Rs 7,400 crore (approximately USD 900 million) in just one year. As of August 2024, reports indicate that the company's worth has surged to over Rs 11,600 crore, propelling Palicha into the ranks of the wealthiest individuals in the country with a net worth of Rs 4,300 crore, according to the Economic Times. His co-founder and childhood friend, Kaivalya Vohra, also shares a similar trajectory, having dropped out of Stanford and enjoying considerable success alongside Palicha.

Interestingly, Zepto isn’t Aadit’s first entrepreneurial endeavor. At the age of 17, he launched his first startup, GoPool, but it failed to gain traction. His original plans to study in the US were curtailed by the pandemic, and with the shift to virtual learning at Stanford, he felt the experience would not be as valuable. Undeterred by these setbacks, Aadit teamed up with Kaivalya to establish a venture called KiranaKart. However, that venture was short-lived, lasting only ten months due to challenges in achieving a strong product-market fit.

In 2021, amid the ongoing pandemic, the duo co-founded Zepto, which has since scaled impressively, attracting significant funding and growing its user base rapidly. Within months of launching Zepto, both Palicha and Vohra found themselves millionaires as the company's valuation soared—from $500 million within five months to USD 900 million in its first year, and reaching USD 1.4 billion by the end of its second year. By the time Aadit would have graduated with his computer science degree, he found himself at the helm of a company valued at over Rs 11,600 crore.

This incredible journey not only highlights Palicha's entrepreneurial spirit but also showcases the potential of young innovators in reshaping industries and challenging established giants in the competitive landscape of Indian e-commerce.

The DNA app is now available for download on the Google Play Store. Please download the app and share your feedback with us.