How Deepinder Goyal Became the ‘Face of India’s Quick Delivery Industry’ and His Net Worth Revealed

Deepinder Goyal, founder and CEO of Eternal—the parent company of Zomato and Blinkit—has announced his resignation, sending ripples across India’s quick delivery sector. Known as the poster boy of India’s fast-growing quick commerce industry, Goyal’s departure has left the industry in shock.

From Humble Beginnings to Entrepreneurial Vision

Hailing from a middle-class family in Muktsar, Punjab, Deepinder Goyal graduated from IIT in 2006 and joined Bain & Company. One day, while waiting in his office canteen, he noticed long queues just to see the menu. Inspired, he scanned and uploaded the menu online. The idea struck a chord with people and laid the foundation for his entrepreneurial journey.

Initially, Goyal launched a website called Foodlet, but it did not gain traction. Undeterred, he and his wife personally visited restaurants across Delhi to upload their menus online. Later, he rebranded the platform as FoodieBay.

The Birth of Zomato

Goyal’s former IIT Delhi classmate, Pankaj Chaddha, helped triple the site’s traffic through technical expertise. Recognizing his contribution, Goyal invited Pankaj to join as co-founder. By 2008, FoodieBay had over 1,400 restaurants registered in Delhi-NCR alone. Both founders eventually quit their jobs to focus fully on the business.

In 2010, Info Edge founder Sanjeev Bikhchandani invested $1 million, alongside funding from other investors, and FoodieBay was rebranded as Zomato. Pankaj Chaddha exited in 2018. Zomato went public in 2021, with its IPO oversubscribed 21 times, and in 2022, it acquired Blinkit, solidifying its position in the quick commerce space. Today, Eternal operates in multiple countries, including India and the UAE, with a market capitalization of ₹2,72,236.39 crore.

Net Worth and Market Impact

At 43, Deepinder Goyal holds a 3.83% stake in Eternal. The company’s strong Q3 performance led to a 7% rise in stock value, boosting Goyal’s personal net worth by approximately ₹600 crore. According to Forbes’ real-time billionaire tracker, Goyal’s wealth now stands at around $1.6 billion (approximately ₹14,659 crore).

Deepinder Goyal’s journey from a canteen observation to leading India’s largest food and quick delivery empire cements his legacy as a pioneer of the industry.