Reliance Industries Writes Off Investment in Dunzo

Reliance Industries has officially written off its entire Rs 1,645 crore (approximately $200 million) investment in Dunzo. This investment was made by Reliance Retail Ventures in early 2022, securing a 25.8% stake in the now-defunct quick commerce platform.

This write-off follows the collapse of Dunzo’s operations. On January 13, 2025, both its app and website went offline after the exit of its last co-founder and CEO, Kabeer Biswas, who has since joined Flipkart to oversee its quick-commerce division, Minutes.

Despite successfully raising over $450 million, Dunzo faced significant financial difficulties, marked by repeated layoffs, unpaid salaries, and reduced operational capacity. Its investors, including Reliance Retail and Google, also looked into potential acquisition opportunities, but these discussions ultimately failed.

The company’s creditors resorted to the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) due to outstanding debts. Reliance’s complete write-off and Dunzo’s shutdown illustrate the severe challenges within India’s quick commerce sector, which includes intense competition from platforms like Blinkit, Zepto, and Instamart, alongside operational inefficiencies and declining investor confidence.

Dunzo ranks among the largest write-offs in the Indian startup landscape, similar to Prosus’ $500 million write-off in Byju’s and $38 million in ZestMoney. Additionally, Info Edge has written off its entire Rs 276 crore (approximately $33 million) investment in Rahul Yadav-led 4B Networks.