According to reports, Tata Sons isn’t too pleased with BigBasket’s sluggish response to the rapid rise and widespread adoption of quick commerce. The company calls this a strategic misstep that has left the Tata Digital unit trailing rivals Blinkit and Zepto.

According to reports, in a recent business review of Tata Digital’s businesses, the group holding company made clear its displeasure over BigBasket's lagging in a space that has seen its competitors capture market share.

Tata Sons has indicated the egrocery unit should seek external investors for a proposed round of as much as $1 billion (about Rs 10,000 crore) to mount a fightback, adding that bankers held meetings recently on the plan.

In addition to Zepto, Blinkit, and Swiggy Instamart, the top three short commerce platforms, Flipkart Minutes is expanding quickly, and Amazon has recently joined.

According to a second source with knowledge of Tata Digital's plans, Tata Sons delayed taking the lead on the projected $1 billion in funding and engaged in discussions with BigBasket management about bringing on a financial backer.

Tata Sons has invested over $2 billion in Tata Digital’s Neu super app to date, but the performance hasn’t met expectations. Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekaran is seeking accountability, having made it clear that businesses must show profits and endless investments will not be made, according reports.

Daily active user traffic for quick commerce has surpassed that of food delivery, underscoring the speedy ascent of the model.

“Given how things have evolved, the idea is to onboard a large financial investor independently in BigBasket, and not at the Tata Neu level. Then, Tatas and other existing investors would put in the rest of the capital,” according to reports.

Another person briefed on the talks said banker pitches were focused on large external investors but existing investors are also willing to back the firm, linked to initial public offering (IPO) plans, adding, “Essentially, this (funding) could lead to an IPO independently for BigBasket.”

Tata owns over 65 percent of BigBasket while Mirae Asset VC and the UK’s CDC Group are among other investors. The Bengaluru-based firm was last valued at $3.2 billion.