Business
This founder is set to become CEO of the company that acquired his startup
This founder is set to become CEO of the company that acquired his startup
About this update from Eternal Limited
When Albinder Dhindsa founded Grofers in 2013, the idea was simple: make everyday shopping easier by bringing neighbourhood stores online. Thirteen years later, Dhindsa is preparing to take charge of the very company that acquired his startup.In an unexpected leadership shift, Eternal Ltd (formerly Zomato) Founder and Group CEO Deepinder Goyal has announced that he will step away from his executive role, with Dhindsa set to become the new group CEO, subject to shareholder approval. Goyal will remain on the board as vice chairman.The transition places Dhindsa — currently the CEO of Blinkit — at the helm of a ₹2.5-lakh-crore consumer tech empire that spans food delivery, quick commerce, B2B supplies and dining-out services.Born in Patiala, Punjab, Dhindsa studied civil engineering at IIT Delhi before earning an MBA from Columbia Business School in New York. Early in his career, he worked as a transportation analyst and later joined Zomato, where he led international expansion. It was during this stint that he began thinking deeply about logistics, supply chains and the inefficiencies of everyday commerce, ideas that would eventually shape his entrepreneurial journey.Dhindsa co-founded Grofers with Saurabh Kumar in 2013 as a hyperlocal delivery platform. Over time, it evolved into a full-fledged online grocery business. The real inflexion point came in 2021, when Grofers rebranded itself as Blinkit and went all-in on quick commerce, promising deliveries in as little as 10 minutes. Subsequently, dark stores and micro-fulfilment centres mushroomed across cities.In 2022, Zomato acquired Blinkit (then Blink Commerce Pvt Ltd, formerly Grofers) in an all-stock deal valued at around ₹4,447-4,500 crore (approximately $568 million). At the time, the acquisition was widely seen as a strategic rescue of a struggling platform.Beyond the boardroom, Dhindsa shares a friendship with Goyal that goes back over two decades. Their professional paths first crossed in Zomato’s early years, long before Dhindsa left to build Grofers.The integration, however, was anything but smooth. Goyal later revealed that he had, on two occasions, asked Dhindsa to step down in the months following the acquisition, citing difficulties in adapting to Zomato’s structure and culture. Goyal admitted he told Dhindsa bluntly that he might not "cut it."However, under Dhindsa’s leadership, Blinkit was r...