Delivery Hero leads a $1 billion investment in German grocery tech startup Gorillas
Daniel Levi
Posted On October 19, 2021
With millions of people now working from home due to the pandemic, online delivery companies are now experiencing unprecedented demands for their services. According to Upserve, 60% of U.S. consumers order delivery or takeout once a week. 31% say they use these third-party delivery services at least twice a week. 34% of consumers spend at least $50 per order when ordering food online.
To meet the growing demand, at least a dozen delivery startups have been launched since the pandemic began 18 months ago. One of these startups is Gorillas, a Berlin, Germany-based startup that allows customers to order groceries and other household items.
Today, Gorillas announced it has raised $1 billion in funding led by German food delivery giant Delivery Hero, with participation from Tencent, Coatue, DST, and Dragoneer. Delivery Hero invested $235 million which gives the company an 8% stake in Gorillas. The latest round now values Gorillas at $3.1 billion.
Founded in May 2020 by Jörg Kattner, Kağan Sümer, and Ronny Shibley, Gorillas is a grocery delivery provider as it aims to aggregate supermarket product ranges delivered to consumers within 10 minutes of ordering. The startup has grown at a rapid clip as demand for its service took off during the coronavirus pandemic.
Gorillas is one of the dozens of European startups competing in an increasingly crowded space. Others include Turkish company Getir, British firm Zapp, and German peer Flink.
In addition to Delivery Hero, Gorillas is also in discussions with the US food delivery giant DoorDash on an investment but those talks ultimately fell apart, according to various reports.
“Delivery Hero is on a mission to advance quick commerce globally and we see Gorillas as one of the leaders in Europe and the US,” Niklas Östberg, Delivery Hero’s CEO and founder, said in a statement Tuesday.
“The Gorillas team has an exceptional customer focus driving the highest retention rates we have seen in the industry.”
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