Blinkit-parent Eternal injects Rs 600 crore into quick commerce arm amid intensifying competition

Albinder Dhindsa, CEO of Blinkit

Eternal — the parent entity of quick commerce market leader Blinkit — has infused Rs 600 crore into the quick-commerce platform, according to filings made with the Registrar of Companies (RoC).

This marks Blinkit’s third capital injection this year, following Rs 500 crore in January and Rs 1,500 crore in February, taking the company’s total infusion in 2025 to Rs 2,600 crore.

In response to Moneycontrol’s queries, an Eternal spokesperson said: "This is a regular cash infusion into Eternal’s subsidiary BCPL to support Blinkit’s network expansion and growth initiatives, including operating losses, working capital, and capex."

The filings, sourced via The Kredible, come at a time when competitive intensity in India’s quick-commerce market has been rising sharply and is expected to remain elevated over the next few quarters.

As Moneycontrol reported earlier, analysts have noted an industry-wide push to capture monthly grocery baskets, expand dark-store networks and deepen discounting, setting off a sustained cycle of cash burn and promotions across major players, which is expected to last for the next few quarters.

Blinkit enters this period well-capitalised, joining a lineup of rivals with considerable balance-sheet firepower. Zepto, for instance, recently closed a $450 million round, giving it fresh headroom to subsidise deliveries and cut platform fees — triggers that have already shaped competitive dynamics this year.

Swiggy, meanwhile, is in the process of raising Rs 10,000 crore through a qualified institutional placement (QIP), positioning Instamart for increased investment as it navigates rising pressure on both volumes and user preference.

Against this backdrop, Blinkit has laid out one of the most aggressive expansion plans in the sector. The company aims to scale its dark-store network to 3,000 stores by March 2027, nearly doubling its footprint, CEO Albinder Dhindsa said in the company’s Q2 FY26 shareholder letter. The roadmap marks Blinkit’s next phase of growth after a year of rapid expansion.

As of the September quarter, Blinkit operated 1,816 dark stores, up from 1,544 in the previous quarter and 791 a year earlier — meaning the company has more than doubled its store count in twelve months.

The platform added 272 stores in Q2 alone, maintaining its steady pace of expansion.

Dhindsa said Blinkit now expects to reach 2,100 stores by December 2025, slightly above its earlier guidance of 2,000.

“We have been maintaining our quarterly rate of net store additions consistently for the last few quarters, and given what we know today, we think we should be able to get to 3,000 stores by March 2027,” he told shareholders.

The sustained capital deployment, combined with upcoming fundraises from Zepto and Swiggy, signals that India’s quick-commerce market is entering one of its most investment-heavy cycles yet.

With companies arming themselves for deeper penetration, shorter delivery times and larger basket missions, the next few quarters are likely to see intensified expansion strategies — from rapid dark-store rollouts to aggressive user-acquisition incentives — as the race for market leadership accelerates.