August 8, 2025

Get ready for a rollercoaster tale from the world of quick deliveries! Reliance Industries has officially called it quits on its investment in Dunzo, the hyperlocal delivery startup that once seemed unstoppable. According to Reliance’s FY25 annual report, they have written off their entire stake after Dunzo struggled fiercely in the crowded quick commerce battlefield. Back in January 2022, Reliance Retail led a massive Rs 1,800 crore (about $240 million) funding round, snagging a 26% slice of Dunzo. They hoped to zoom ahead in the rapidly growing quick commerce market. Earlier, in FY24, Reliance had valued this investment at Rs 1,645 crore. But Dunzo’s journey wasn’t smooth. Despite raising over $450 million—including $200 million from Reliance itself—the startup just couldn’t keep its engines running. It raced aggressively with new services like Dunzo Daily, promising groceries delivered in 15-20 minutes. Sounds great, right? But this fast pace pushed monthly costs sky-high, crossing Rs 100 crore at times. Adding fuel to the fire, Dunzo splurged on big marketing moves, like sponsoring the Indian Premier League (IPL). This boosted fame but drained cash fast. Even with more orders, people still mostly thought of Dunzo as a courier service, not a quick shopping app. This image problem hurt its business dreams. As money started running dry, Dunzo had to slow down deliveries from a lightning 15 minutes to a sluggish 60 minutes, trying to cut costs by batching orders. Meanwhile, India’s startup funding climate slowed down in 2023, making fresh cash harder to find. By 2024, Dunzo was shrinking fast. It cut many jobs and scaled back both quick commerce and courier operations. Meanwhile, rivals like Swiggy’s Instamart, Zomato’s Blinkit, and Zepto marched forward boldly. The last nail in the coffin came in early 2025 when Dunzo’s app and website went offline. This happened soon after CEO and cofounder Kabeer Biswas stepped down. Guess where he went next? He now leads the quick commerce section at Flipkart Minutes, backed by Walmart. Trouble started much earlier when several top leaders, including board members and cofounders Dalvir Suri, Mukund Jha, and Ankur Agarwal, left between late 2023 and 2024. Financial troubles and staffing hits piled up. Apart from Reliance, Google was a heavy hitter too, holding 20% of Dunzo’s shares. But in the fierce quick commerce fight, even that wasn’t enough. So, what’s the takeaway? In the fast-moving world of quick deliveries, big money and bold plans don’t always guarantee victory. Dunzo’s story shows how tough the race is and why staying agile and cash-smart is key to survival.

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Tags: Reliance industries, Dunzo, Hyperlocal delivery, Quick commerce, Startup funding, Investment write-off,