Instacart is an on-demand grocery delivery platform that has broadened offerings beyond groceries to include same-day delivery of prescription medicine, electronics, home décor, sporting equipment and more. The company said it intends to grow headcount by 50% in 2021 and to continue scaling and investing in advertising, marketing and enterprise efforts. Instacart completed multiple fundraises in 2020, including a $225 million round in June, a $100 million round in July, and a $200 million venture round in October. The company attributed much of its recent growth and investor interest to demand driven by the pandemic. Instacart did not disclose specific usage growth rates in its announcement. CFO Nick Giovanni said the company expects pandemic-era shopping habits to be "a new normal." Instacart is an on-demand grocery delivery company that serves customers and grocery partners and also operates enterprise and ads businesses. The company announced a $200 million funding round led by D1 Capital and Valiant Peregrine Fund that values Instacart at $17.7 billion post-money ($17.5 billion pre-money). Instacart said it will use the new capital to introduce features and tools to improve the customer experience and to further support its enterprise and ads businesses. Demand for Instacart expanded during the COVID-19 pandemic, contributing to rapid valuation growth. Earlier in 2020 the company raised $225 million in June and $100 million in July; the June round valued it at about $13.7 billion. Profitability is unclear: The Information reported a roughly $10 million profit in one month in Q2, while also reporting a roughly $300 million loss in 2019; Instacart did not answer questions about further profitable months or Q3 growth. The company is engaged in political and legal matters, including backing California’s Prop 22 and facing a D.C. lawsuit alleging deceptive service fees and unpaid sales tax. Instacart, a San Francisco company, operates a grocery delivery and shopping platform available at roughly 30,000 stores across the U.S. and Canada and reachable by about 85% of U.S. households and over 70% of Canadian households. The company announced a $225 million financing and will use the proceeds to invest in shoppers and partners, build out its advertising and enterprise business, and improve customer experience. Instacart also plans to invest in technical and operational infrastructure to help ensure timely deliveries as orders have increased roughly 500% year over year. The surge in demand has led the company to hire hundreds and thousands of shoppers and, according to The Information, to report its first profit. Despite growth and profitability, Instacart relies heavily on independent contractors and faces persistent shopper unrest and strikes over pay and protections. In response to recent events, the company said it would invest $1 million to support internal teams and nonprofits, and it has spent funds on a ballot measure to keep shoppers classified as independent contractors. Instacart operates a grocery delivery and pickup platform that connects shoppers to more than 300 retailers, including Kroger, Costco, Walmart and Sam’s Club. CEO Apoorva Mehta has an ambition for every U.S. household to use Instacart, and the company says its service is available to roughly 70% of U.S. households. Instacart is expanding its engineering footprint — including plans to double its engineering team and fill 300 open engineering roles in a new Toronto office. Financially, the company reports profitability on a contribution margin basis (profit per order) and has been raising capital aggressively while spending cautiously. Sources say Instacart still holds the entirety of its $350M Series E and the majority of its $413M Series D in the bank, leaving about $1.2B in available cash. The company has also completed several senior hires and continues to pursue broader retail partnerships and pilots. Instacart operates an online grocery delivery service and has a partnership of sorts with Whole Foods. The company says it plans to accelerate efforts to bring online grocery everywhere and to transform the way people shop. Instacart raised an additional $150 million, bringing its Series E to $350 million at a $4.35 billion valuation. That follows a $200 million raise in February that valued the company at $4.2 billion. Coatue is named as a new investor in the raise, with participation from other new and existing investors. The funding comes as Amazon, owner of Whole Foods, announced free two-hour delivery of Whole Foods items via Prime Now, increasing competition in the online grocery market.

Total raised

$2.3B

Funding rounds

11

Latest round

Equity

Latest activity

Mar 2021