Last week was undeniably Instacart’s week. The rising grocery delivery leader announced it raised $225 million as part of a new financing round led by DST Global, General Catalyst, and D1 Capital Partners. This investment increases its valuation to $13.7 billion.
"COVID-19 created a massive shift for the grocery industry and forever changed how people view the necessity of on-demand services. Overnight, Instacart became an essential service for millions of families across North America and our teams have worked incredibly hard to safely serve customers and shoppers during this time of need,” said Apoorva Mehta, Founder and CEO of Instacart.
In a press release, the company noted that this investment will help it continue to take advantage of the unprecedented surge in consumer demand for grocery delivery and pickup. Today, Instacart partners with 400 national, regional, and local retailers across more than 30,000 stores in the U.S. and Canada. Now, with growth bolstering its standing in the market, the company is looking to use its recent capital investment to deploy new services, features, and business ventures.
“We have ambitious plans for the future and this new investment enables us to deepen our support for our shoppers and partners, further fund strategic initiatives such as our advertising and enterprise businesses, and continue to deliver exceptional experiences for customers,” continued Mehta. “This pandemic has fundamentally reshaped the way people think about grocery and e-commerce, and we're proud to have Instacart continue to play an important role in people's lives now and long after this crisis subsides.”
On top of this massive investment, Forbes also revealed that Instacart reached 57 percent of weekly market share, surpassing some of the most recognizable grocery delivery players like Walmart, Amazon, and Target-owned Shipt. The news source attributed Instacart's success to that high demand for grocery delivery, as well as its operational model, which relies on partnerships with major grocery chains like Costco, Kroger, Albertsons, and more.
For more information on Instacart’s latest funding round, click here.
How will Instacart shake up the grocery delivery sector as it continues to scale its business? Deli Market News will continue to keep its eyes on the buy-side.
