Swiggy to sponsor Shark Tank Season 4, excludes Zomato founder Deepinder Goyal as part of deal

IPO-bound food and grocery platform Swiggy is close to finalizing a deal to sponsor the fourth season of Shark Tank India for 25 crores. Swiggy has stipulated as part of the agreement that Zomato founder and CEO Deepinder Goyal not return to the show as an investor, according to sources familiar with the matter. Swiggy’s bid to block Deepinder Goyal from Shark Tank underscores the intensifying rivalry between the two companies, which compete in food and grocery delivery. While they were evenly poised till a few years ago, Zomato has widened the gap in recent years and now has a clear lead over Swiggy in both businesses. It also highlights Swiggy’s growing marketing expenses, as it gears up for public listing in weeks from now.

Shark Tank India, which airs on Sony Television recently began shooting for the fourth season. The returning sharks include Anupam Mittal of People Group; Aman Gupta of boAt Lifestyle; Namita Thapar, Executive Director at Emcure Pharmaceuticals, Peyush Bansal of Lenskart; and Ritesh Agarwal of OYO.

Deepinder Goyal, who made his debut as a Shark in season 3, earned praise from viewers for his sharp questions and candid observations while interacting with founders who were pitching to him. Social media was abuzz with his comments and clips from the show, burnishing his popularity on the show. Many companies typically ask for a ‘competition block’ while entering into sponsorship agreements. However, Swiggy’s move to keep out Goyal may have also been prompted by its upcoming public issue.