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Every time you feel hungry and you open your phone, there is a very good chance that the first thing you click is that red Zomato icon. This app has become a staple for millions of Indians. However, have you ever wondered who is the owner behind this app which has revolutionized the way Indians eat? Let us find out.
Who is the Founder of Zomato?
Source: Indian Management School and Research Centre
The story of Zomato started not in any fancy office but in a company cafeteria. Deepinder Goyal was born in Muktsar, Punjab and got his integrated master's degree in mathematics and computing from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi in 2005 as per IIT Delhi’s Alumni Relations section. In 2006, he went to work in Bain & Company as Senior Associate Consultant.
At Bain and Company, everyone had to stand in lengthy lines to place their food order. So, Deepinder and his colleague Pankaj Chaddah had an idea to create a website for ordering food using the company's intranet. To their surprise, the platform became a huge hit and it started the journey of Zomato.
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From Foodiebay to Zomato
Deepinder and Pankaj Chaddah started putting in efforts in 2008 by scanning restaurant menus and posting them online so that it could be easily accessed by all. The name of the website was originally Foodiebay.
It was really popular as people began to easily access restaurant menus on the platform. As per Zomato’s blog, Foodiebay served 2 million customers in 2009. The founders changed the name of Foodiebay to Zomato by 2010.
The idea behind this name change was due to the expansion of the company and Deepinder didn’t want to overlap the name in context with e-bay. That is why the name was changed to Zomato
The Zomato blog mentions: “We saw that if we wanted to touch broader horizons then the name “Foodiebay” wasn’t going to be the best option since it might restrict our perception as just a food website. And right now was the time to reflect deeply and think about what we should be christened as especially since we are going to invest heavily in marketing the brand.”
“Another thought that was at the back of our minds was to prevent any overstepping of ebay when we start accepting online payments. Given these goals, we put our heads to the grindstone and thought a lot about it the last 2 weeks. All this wasn’t easy because we love Foodiebay as much as you do. So we decided to keep the idea of food at the center but choose a name that is timeless and encompassing. We decided on the name Zomato. Zomato’s got a zing to it and is originally a play on the word Tomato. Zomato is not restricted to food either,” it adds.
Who is the Owner of Zomato Today?
This is the interesting bit. Zomato, just like Infosys or Reliance, is a public company. The name of the trading entity is Eternal Limited and it is listed on both BSE and NSE and was previously Zomato Ltd till 2025. This means there is no single owner. Anyone can buy its shares and become a part-owner.
Info Edge, which owns Naukri.com, was among the first ones to believe in Zomato. Info Edge presently owns 12.38% in the company.
What is Eternal Limited?
After the acquisition of Blinkit in 2022, the group has been renamed Eternal and the acquisition of Blinkit now accounts for the major chunk of the company's sales. Today, the parent company is Eternal Limited and Zomato is its food delivery brand as a part of the larger umbrella.
Who is the Current CEO of Zomato?
Source: Upstox
Deepinder Goyal, the group CEO for 18 years, resigned from his position. Subsequently, beginning from 1st Feb 2026 Albinder Singh Dhindsa, who heads up the quick commerce business Blinkit, has assumed the post of CEO of Zomato.
Deepinder is the major face behind Zomato and he will continue to serve Eternal as its vice chairman.
The journey of Zomato is a true ‘Made in India’ success story as it was born from a queue in an office in Delhi, by two IIT-graduates and now it is a company that feeds millions of people every single day.