Indian grocery startup Apna Mart cuts 10% of jobs after AI shift

India’s grocery delivery startup Apna Mart has cut about 10% of its workforce, or 35 to 40 jobs, amid AI-led automation and a headquarters shift.

The company said affected employees would get severance equal to two months of salary.

Apna Mart said some employees could not relocate, and some roles were no longer needed as AI now handles that work.

Founded by Abhishek Singh and Chetan Garg, Apna Mart runs an omnichannel grocery business in 10 cities across eastern and central India.

Its FY25 filings showed a 758 million rupees (US$7.97 million) net loss on 1.9 billion rupees (US$20 million) revenue.

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Implications, context, and why it matters.

The layoffs came soon after Apna Mart raised 2.1 billion rupees (US$25 million) through equity and debt financing 1.
The round included Accel, a venture capital firm, and Fundamentum Partnership Fund, an investment fund focused on Indian startups. It lifted Apna Mart’s valuation by 81% to about 7.4 billion rupees (US$77.6 million) 1.
FY24 filings put the company’s loss at 330 million rupees (US$3.47 million), up 51.4%. Revenue reached 596 million rupees (US$6.26 million), up 85.6% 2.

Apna Mart is moving its headquarters from Bengaluru to Gurugram. The company said its product and tech teams are also shifting there as it automates some work with AI.
Citing AI automation as a reason for layoffs links cost cuts to efficiency software at an earlier-stage company. That approach was more common at large technology companies.
The move came after the new funding round 1. It fits a broader push from investors for tighter operations and a clearer path to profitability, instead of growth at all costs.