New Delhi, Sept. 9 -- Eternal, the rechristened parent of food delivery platform Zomato, quick commerce venture Blinkit, restaurant supplies unit Hyperpure, and the District app for dining and entertainment, saw a sharp jump in its technology budget during the year ended March 31, 2025. The company saw its tech spends rising by a third to Rs.644 crore over the previous year. The primary driver was cloud computing costs that rose in line with growing transaction volumes. Food delivery handled 853 million orders, Blinkit processed 424 million quick-commerce orders, and the District app added load from ticketing for movies, sports, and events. To manage this scale, Zomato increased investment in server infrastructure, software subscriptions, and communication systems. The technology focus in FY25 shifted toward strengthening underlying systems rather than introducing new customer features. Cloud infrastructure was expanded to manage higher traffic levels. Data and analytics tools were improved to support advertising strategies and personalization. Security systems were upgraded, and processes were aligned with India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act. Zomato also integrated Paytm's ticketing platform, acquired in August 2024, into its existing systems, requiring IT adjustments across platforms. This rise in IT spending builds on a notable trend from the previous year. In FY24, IT expenses stood at Rs.485 crore, up 25% from Rs.387 crore in FY23. That year, Zomato handled about 753 million orders, compared to 640 million in FY23, and added expense pressure from software subscriptions, communication services, and consolidation of Blinkit. In FY24 the company also introduced an AI chatbot built on a multi-agent framework to assist paying members with food discovery and ordering. It launched Recipe Rover using ChatGPT and Midjourney to suggest meal ideas. An augmented reality menu lets users preview dishes through their phones before placing orders. Zomato also deployed proprietary geo-location tools to reduce delivery errors and added automation in customer service to speed up in-app query resolution. Furthermore, the company's focus moved from experimenting with new consumer features in FY24 to reinforcing infrastructure, scalability, and compliance in FY25. The FY24 initiatives were shaped by emerging technologies, while FY25 concentrated on handling demand and regulatory standards.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from TechCircle.