Why Deepinder Goyal considered asking Albinder Dhindsa to leave Blinkit
04 Jan 2026

Deepinder Goyal, the founder and CEO of Eternal, which owns Zomato and Blinkit, has revealed that he once thought about asking Albinder Dhindsa, the CEO and founder of Blinkit, to step down.

The revelation came during a conversation with podcaster Raj Shamani.

The potential conflict stemmed from Zomato's 2022 acquisition of Blinkit (then known as Grofers) in an all-stock deal worth ₹4,447 crore.

Goyal's concerns over leadership suitability
Leadership doubts

Goyal admitted that he once considered asking Dhindsa to leave as he felt he wasn't the right leader for Blinkit.

He said, "We were very objective in what we were doing. I was even at a point of asking Albi (Dhindsa) to leave because he was not the right leader for the organization."

The statement highlights Goyal's focus on effective leadership in his companies.

Zomato's acquisition of Blinkit faced criticism
Acquisition backlash

Zomato's acquisition of Blinkit was heavily criticized over the deal's pricing and Goyal's potential conflict of interest due to his close relationship with Dhindsa, a former Zomato employee.

Goyal admitted that the deal valued Blinkit as a certain percentage of Zomato, which was initially worth almost $1 billion.

However, as Zomato's stock price fell, so did Blinkit's valuation at the time of the transaction's close.

Blinkit's success post-acquisition
Business growth

Despite the initial criticism, Zomato and Blinkit have since worked together to make Blinkit a leader in the quick commerce space.

Goyal was confident about the business potential of Blinkit from the start.

He said, "I had never personally experienced a service, which was as addictive as Blinkit. The kind of convenience that we were getting was crazy. I knew this would become a business and people would love it."

Performance under Eternal's ownership
Financial results

Today, Blinkit is the biggest business vertical for Eternal in terms of net order value (NOV). In the July-September quarter, the quick commerce firm reported an NOV of ₹9,891 crore and clocked 223 million orders.