Deepinder Goyal, founder and CEO of Zomato, has officially entered the billionaire club as the value of his holdings in the foodtech firm surpassed Rs 8,400 crore ($1 billion).
With this milestone, Goyal joins the ranks of prominent Indian startup founders such as Sachin and Binny Bansal (Flipkart), Nikhil and Nitin Kamath (Zerodha), Vijay Shekhar Sharma (Paytm), Byju Raveendran (Byju’s), and Ritesh Agarwal (Oyo), who have achieved similar valuations with their companies.
As of March 31, 2024, Goyal owned a 4.19% stake in Zomato, amounting to 36,94,71,500 shares. The value of his personal holdings crossed the $1 billion mark as Zomato’s share price recently hit an all-time high of approximately Rs 232. Zomato currently has a market capitalization of Rs 2,01,343 crore ($24.25 billion), making Goyal’s holdings valued at Rs 8,423 crore ($1.01 billion), according to Entrackr’s estimate.
Zomato has also received shareholder approval for a new ESOP plan valued at $458 million, bringing the company’s total ESOP value to over $800 million. This places Zomato’s ESOP pool among the largest in the Indian startup ecosystem, second only to Flipkart. In 2021, Oyo’s ESOP pool was valued close to $1 billion, followed by Paytm, Nykaa, and Policybazaar. However, the value of Oyo and Paytm’s ESOP pools has significantly declined due to a sharp decrease in their valuations.
Goyal’s entry into the billionaire club highlights his success in the VC-backed ecosystem, distinguishing him from founders of bootstrapped startups like the Kamath brothers and Sridhar Vembu, whose fortunes are also estimated to exceed $1 billion.
Zomato’s positive momentum on the stock exchange continues despite the company’s decision to increase its platform fees to Rs 6 in Delhi and Bengaluru. Initially introduced at Rs 2 in August last year, the platform fee was increased to Rs 5 in April and now stands at Rs 6 per order, aiming to improve margins. Swiggy also raised its platform fee to Rs 6 in these two cities.
In FY24, Zomato reported robust growth, with revenue from operations surging 71% year-on-year to Rs 12,114 crore, up from Rs 7,079 crore in FY22. The company achieved a profit of Rs 351 crore in FY24, compared to a loss of Rs 971 crore in FY23.
