Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal will not be returning as a judge on the upcoming season of Shark Tank India, and according to him, Swiggy is to blame.
Goyal, who was a popular judge in the last season, shared that a sponsorship deal between Shark Tank and his arch-rival Swiggy has prevented his return to the show, which is now gearing up for its fourth season.
"I went there to set a different narrative, to be real and change how people perceive the startup world," Goyal said. "But I can’t go back because Swiggy sponsored Shark Tank and kicked me out, at least that’s what I heard.”
Goyal was praised for his sharp observations and candid feedback during his stint as a judge, but the new Swiggy deal, reportedly worth Rs 25 crore, ensures that his role as both a judge and investor on the show is over—at least for now.
The Zomato chief also touched on his company’s rivalry with Swiggy, recalling the moment in 2018 when Swiggy raised $1 billion in a funding round while Zomato was sitting on just $35 million in the bank. “That was the only time I thought, ‘Oh sh**, we’re dead,’” Goyal said at the ET Startup Awards 2024. The large funding round allowed Swiggy to scale quickly, invest in technology, and expand delivery-only kitchens, widening the gap between the two food tech giants at the time.
Despite the competition, Goyal remains pragmatic about Swiggy’s progress and their upcoming IPO, which has recently received approval from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).
"It’s good for the sector to have multiple companies. We don’t care what others are doing, we focus on our own job,” Goyal said in a interview with Moneycontrol.
Swiggy co-founder Sriharsha Majety also commented on the rivalry, stating that while being compared to a publicly listed competitor like Zomato has its challenges, it also brings advantages in terms of market understanding and investor interest. Both companies now compete fiercely in the quick commerce sector, which has grown to $5.5 billion in just four years.
With Goyal out of Shark Tank India and the quick commerce battle heating up, the stage is set for more intense competition between Zomato and Swiggy, not just in the food delivery space but across India’s rapidly evolving tech landscape. Kunal Bahl, co-founder of Snapdeal, will be joining Shark Tank India as a new judge in its upcoming season.