Zomato’s Deepinder Goyal orders food from Swiggy? ‘Never opened anybody else’s app’

This comes as Swiggy has increased its brand presence ahead of its IPO. Deepinder Goyal also revealed that he was dropped as the judge of Shark Tank India owing to Swiggy sponsoring the fourth season of the popular business reality show.

He said, “The startup culture of India is too much about showmanship. I went there to set a different narrative, be real and change how people perceive. I felt a moral obligation to go there. I shot for one weekend and gave my perspective. I, unfortunately, can’t go back because Swiggy sponsored Shark Tank and kicked me out, at least that’s what I heard.”

Deepinder Goyal also reflected on the most challenging time for his company Zomata when in 2018 it faced significant financial hurdles. At the time, Swiggy secured a massive $1 billion in funding, while Zomato had just $35 million in the bank, he said, adding, “The only one moment like ‘Oh sh**, we’re dead’ was when Swiggy raised $1 billion and we had $35 million in the bank.”