US-based grocery delivery service Instacart has raised $600 million in a funding round which values the company at $7.6 billion.
The round was led by investment firm D1 Capital Partners and follows on from a Series E financing round earlier this year in which the firm raised $200 million.
Instacart said it aims to use the capital to further expand in North America, invest in marketing to increase consumer awareness and recruit engineering and product development talent.
The company’s delivery service is now accessible to more than 70% of US households and more than 50% of Canadian households. Instacart serves more than 15,000 different grocery stores across 4,000 cities and has a community of 50,000 shoppers.
It has partnered with retailers such as Kroger, Aldi, Loblaw, Sam’s Club, Sprouts, Publix, Albertsons and Walmart Canada. To date, the company has raised more than $1.6 billion in funding and it now has 600 full-time employees across North America.
Apoorva Mehta, CEO and Founder of Instacart, said: “The US is nearly a $1 trillion grocery market, and last year we saw almost every major grocer in North America bring their delivery business online in a significant way.
“We believe we’re in the very early stages of a massive shift in the way people buy groceries and we expect that one in five Americans will be shopping for their groceries online in the next five years.
“We’re excited to partner with D1 Capital on this investment, which is a testament to the growth we’ve seen and our ambitious plans for the future.”
Dan Sundheim, founder of D1 Capital Partners, added: “We have strong conviction in Instacart and its team and pursued the partnership because of the company’s unique industry leadership position and the growth opportunity ahead.
“Grocery is the largest category within US retail and it is also one of the least penetrated online. The industry is at a tipping point and there will likely be a significant acceleration in the adoption of online ordering for grocery delivery over the next few years.
“We believe that traditional retailers will lead the category online, as their brick and mortar stores are the most effective distribution centres for fulfilment of online grocery orders. Instacart’s world-class management and engineering team has proven to be a highly effective partner for grocers to serve customers in new ways.”
