Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal to venture into health and wellness space with 'Continue'

Zomato co-founder and CEO Deepinder Goyal is set to venture into the health and wellness space with his latest entrepreneurial project, 'Continue.' This new initiative, launched under the name Upslove Advisors Private Limited in April 2024, aims to focus on health tracking and mental wellness, diversifying Goyal’s business interests beyond the food delivery ecosystem.

'Continue' marks Deepinder Goyal’s second entrepreneurial venture after Zomato, signaling his growing interest in extending human longevity through comprehensive health solutions. According to regulatory filings, Goyal holds a 99.9% share in the company, with Ashish Gotal holding the remaining 0.1%. The venture, currently in stealth mode, raised an initial funding of Rs 50 lakhs from shareholders.

Joining Goyal in this new journey are two Zomato veterans, Simrandeep Singh and Akriti Mehta, who have been appointed as additional directors at Upslove Advisors. Singh brings 5 years of experience at Zomato, while Mehta contributes 7 years of industry expertise. Their combined knowledge in operations and strategy from Zomato is expected to strengthen Continue’s growth in the highly competitive health tech space.

Continue reflects Goyal’s passion for personal health and wellness, a journey he publicly shared, including his personal fitness transformation, which saw him lose 15 kilograms over four years. Goyal has also made previous inroads into the health tech space as an investor in Ultrahuman, a startup specializing in wearable tech that tracks health metrics like sleep and heart rate.

While specific details about Continue remain under wraps, it is expected to focus on areas like nutrition tracking, sleep monitoring, and preventive healthcare, potentially evolving into a comprehensive wellness platform. "Spending time with the Continue team is like going to the gym for me. It helps me avoid visits to doctors," Goyal tweeted upon the venture’s launch, hinting at the ambition behind the project.

Update on Continue

Been getting a lot of curious messages since the morning, so here's an update on Continue.

It is as of now, my personal health and wellness team, entirely funded by me, which tracks and researches how to keep me running at my peak performance.

Spending…

— Deepinder Goyal (@deepigoyal) October 21, 2024

Stepping into the competitive wellness space

Continue will enter a market already populated by established players such as Ultrahuman and Mindhouse, the latter founded by former Zomato executives Mohit Kumar and Pankaj Chaddah. Goyal’s personal investment of $10 million in Ultrahuman’s Series B funding round underscores his keen interest in the sector.

This move into health and wellness is also part of Goyal’s broader diversification strategy. Zomato has already ventured into various sectors, including Blinkit (quick commerce), Hyperpure (restaurant supplies), and entertainment ticketing via District. Zomato’s previous acquisition of Fitso, a fitness platform later sold to Tata Digital-owned Curefit, highlights the company’s willingness to explore adjacent categories.

Goyal's entrepreneurial journey reached a new milestone in July 2024 when his Zomato holdings crossed Rs 8,400 crore, placing him firmly in the billionaire club. Despite his diversification into personal projects like Continue, Zomato continues to perform robustly. In June 2024, Zomato reported a 44.23% increase in net sales to Rs 2,048 crore, alongside a 70.29% rise in quarterly net profit to Rs 470 crore.

Zomato’s stock performance has been stellar, with a 183% increase over the past year and 111% growth in 2024 alone. Its average monthly transacting customers grew 14.45% to 19 million, while order growth was 23% year-on-year, with a Gross Order Value (GOV) of Rs 8,439 crore in Q4 FY24.

Goyal’s entry into the health and wellness space comes at a time when Zomato is experiencing rapid growth and profitability, further solidifying his entrepreneurial credentials. With Continue, Goyal is not only expanding his business portfolio but also reiterating his commitment to innovation and a personal passion for health, marking a pivotal moment in his entrepreneurial journey.

As Goyal explores this new domain, his calculated yet ambitious approach is set to make waves in the health tech industry, all while maintaining Zomato’s momentum in the highly competitive food delivery market.