On-demand grocery delivery startup Instacart bags $200 million in fresh funding at $17.7 billion valuation

It’s been a while since we last wrote about Instacart. Back in April 2018, the on-demand grocery delivery startup Instacart closed $350 million Series E Financing to accelerate growth and support North America expansion. By combining a personal touch with cutting-edge technology, Instacart offers customers a simple solution to save time and eat fresh food from the most trusted grocery brands.

More than two years later, the San Francisco-based Instacart announced today it has raised $200 million as part of new financing. The round, which brings the company valuation to $17.7 billion, was led by existing investors Valiant Peregrine Fund and D1 Capital Partners. The investment comes as consumer demand for Instacart’s online grocery delivery and pickup services continues to grow and the company expands its marketplace with new and existing retail partners. Instacart partners with more than 500 retailers and delivers from nearly 40,000 store locations across the U.S. and Canada.

Founded in 2012 by Apoorva Mehta (a former Amazon employee), Brandon Leonardo, and Max Mullen, the San Francisco, California-based Instacart is a grocery startup that offers same-day grocery delivery service. Instacart has quickly scaled to over 220 markets and partnered with retailers across North America, including popular national chains (Albertsons, Kroger, Costco, Loblaw) as well as local, regional grocers (Publix, Wegmans, Schnucks, H-E-B).

“Today’s investment is a testament to the strong conviction our existing investors have in the strength of our teams and the important role Instacart plays for customers, partners, and the entire grocery ecosystem. I’m incredibly proud of our team’s work to scale our business this past year and rise to meet the unprecedented consumer demand and growth.”

Mehta added: “Their tireless efforts have allowed us to expand our marketplace to more than 500 retailers, deliver from nearly 40,000 store locations across North America and move grocery delivery into the mainstream as millions of people across North America now rely on Instacart. While we’re proud of these milestones, we believe we have a lot more work to do to deliver for all the communities we serve. Going forward, our teams remain relentlessly focused on building the absolute best online grocery shopping experience while partnering with iconic retailers to offer more selection and value to customers,” said Apoorva Mehta, Founder, and CEO of Instacart.

Instacart is available to more than 85% of U.S. households and more than 70% of Canadian households with delivery and pickup services across more than 5,500 cities in North America. The company expects to deploy the new capital in a number of ways, including product development focused on introducing new features and tools to enhance the customer experience, continued investment in Instacart Enterprise to support retailers’ end-to-end eCommerce needs, and further investment in Instacart Ads to help connect Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) brands of all sizes to customers shopping online from their favorite local retailers.