Amazon leads $575m funding round in Deliveroo

Meal delivery service Deliveroo has received $575 million in a funding round led by tech giant Amazon, taking the total capital raised by the UK-based service to $1.53 billion to date.

UK-based Deliveroo – which delivers meals from restaurants directly to consumers through an app-based platform – claims that the funding will be used to expand the company’s tech team at its UK Headquarters, expand further to reach new customers, and will support the development of delivery-only super kitchens, known as “Editions”.

The funding round also included additional investments from existing investors T Rowe Price, Fidelity Management and Research Company, and Greenoaks.

Will Shu, founder and CEO of Deliveroo, said: “This new investment will help Deliveroo to grow and to offer customers even more choice, tailored to their personal tastes, offer restaurants greater opportunities to grow and expand their businesses, and to create more flexible, well-paid work for riders.

“Amazon has been an inspiration to me personally and to the company, and we look forward to working with such a customer-obsessed organisation.

“This is great news for the tech and restaurant sectors, and it will help to create jobs in all of the countries in which we operate.”

Although Amazon has been revealed as the largest investor in the round, the exact amount it has invested has not been announced.

This move signals another significant push into the food industry by Amazon, which has been making strides to expand its service in the industry following its $13.7 billion acquisition of Whole Foods Market in 2017.

The company has since trialled a meal kit delivery service through its AmazonFresh platform, and the retailer opened its first checkout-free supermarket in Seattle last year, as the company experiments with new innovative technologies to secure a strong foothold in the sector.

Amazon’s UK manager Doug Gurr said: “We’re impressed with Deliveroo’s approach, and their dedication to providing customers with an ever increasing selection of great restaurants along with convenient delivery options.

“Will and his team have built an innovative technology and service, and we’re excited to see what they do next.”