What could turn out to be a telling development is that Zepto, a fast-growing quick commerce startup, will now shift headquarters from Mumbai to Bengaluru—a key change for the three-year-old firm. That underscores the widening influence of Bengaluru as India’s tech capital and points to a key realignment in Zepto’s operations.
Currently, Zepto operates its business verticals out of Mumbai, with its tech and product teams being housed in Bengaluru. The company will now consolidate all its functions and staff into a single larger office space in Bengaluru and bring together its 1,700-1,800 employees under one roof. This strategic move would help the company streamline operations and enhance efficiency by centralizing the same.
Zepto will vacate its existing properties—an 80,000-90,000 square feet office in Mumbai and a 30,000-40,000 square feet space in Bengaluru. In their place will come a new 150,000 square feet facility in Bengaluru. This would provide the extra space needed to meet the growing needs of the company in a more integrated working environment.
The relocation is likely to come at a one-time cost of about Rs 3-4 crore, which would include costs for shifting and setting up the new office. The financial blow would, however, be compensated by significant savings on rent. Zepto’s shift from Mumbai to Bengaluru is likely to help it save about Rs 40-50 lakh per month on rent alone. This is a story of growth, and at the same time, that of price advantages of Bengaluru over Mumbai.
Transitioning to Tech Hub
Zepto’s relocation move talks of changing dynamics in the corporate landscape in India, with Bengaluru cementing its place as a central IT and business hub. It has become the favorite destination for technology companies who wish to either expand or consolidate their operations, considering its decent infrastructure, rich talent pool, and business-friendly environment.
On the eve of Zepto making this transition, it also captured a broader trend of technology companies moving towards Bengaluru to further entrench the city as a central hub of innovation and business development in India. The move is supposed to strengthen the position of Bengaluru while giving enough space and resources to Zepto for its future growth and success.
