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Gopuff, the startup that helped launch a new category of food delivery in the United States – the ‘instant’ delivery of essential groceries and other household items for a flat fee of $ 1.95, 24/7 – closed a huge round of funding to help it further expand its service across the country and the world. He raised $ 1 billion in a Series H round that values the Philadelphia-based company at $ 15 billion.
New funders include Blackstone’s Horizons platform, Guggenheim Investments, Hedosophia and Adage Capital. Former funders Fidelity Management and Research Company, Softbank Vision Fund 1, Atreides Management and Eldridge also participated in the round.
This news confirms our scoop from last week, when we reported on this H Series while it was still being closed.
Gopuff said he plans to use the funding to further expand into North America, the UK (where he has already acquired one company, Fancy, and, according to sources, is acquiring another, Dija) and in Europe ; on more hiring; and continue to develop the technology platform that connects an ecosystem that includes customers, drivers, suppliers and distribution centers.
It currently operates 450 locations in North America and the UK, which includes more than 285 dark stores (or “micro-distribution centers,” in Gopuff’s words), as well as more than 185 retailers through its acquisition of BevMo earlier this year.
One of the reasons Gopuff has raised such a large amount is that building a food and logistics based transportation business on all of these parameters is capital intensive.
But also, this growth effort comes in the midst of a strong surge of competition. Getir, from Turkey, backed by Sequoia and others and most recently valued at $ 7.5 billion, is also booming. And just looking at Europe, there’s a wave of others – like Flink, Gorillas, Glovo, Zapp, Cajoo and Weezy – who are also inflating their bank accounts to throw their delivery bags in the ring. (In the United States, established delivery giants like DoorDash will also establish themselves deeper into Gopuff’s territory.)
Gopuff thinks he can give all of these and others a run for their money. Founded in 2013 by Rafael Ilishayev and Yakir Gola – now co-CEOs – while still at university to fill a void they saw in the market for students like them, Gopuff has grown far beyond. beyond by reaching out to anyone looking for a relatively inexpensive and a way to get essentials without physically going out to get those items themselves.
In a time when many of us were ordered by our city governments or acted on our own decisions to stay in place to curb the spread of COVID-19, the Star of Gopuff quickly established itself as an easy way. to comply without compromising our consumerist trends.
But companies like Getir in Turkey – which has been around for years and is also developing a model for the “instant” delivery of essential goods – have shown the concept to be sustainable, and that’s also what Gopuff is betting on.
“Gopuff has quietly built a very strong business and solidified as a leading player, continuing to define this evolving category, ”said Scott Minerd, global chief investment officer of Guggenheim Investments, in a statement. “Rafael and Yakir are focused on maintaining fiscal responsibility while having the ability to successfully execute strategic growth opportunities. This measured approach as well as GopuffThe impressive offering of s has only scratched the surface. We are thrilled to support this incredibly strong company and look forward to being a part of Gopuffthe course and continued expansion of.
Part of Gopuff’s strategy has been to increase basic instant delivery of essentials with more efficient distribution as well as a broader view of what constitutes “essentials”.
So, in addition to creating more localized “dark” stores to more easily distribute products to customers who buy them, this has included starting “Gopuff kitchens” to make and deliver ready meals; buy alcohol retailer BevMo for $ 350 million in November 2020; and the acquisition of more logistics technologies in the form of the purchase of rideOS for $ 115 million.
Gopuff has been on a fundraising tear to fund it all. It wasn’t until March that it raised $ 1.15 billion for a valuation of $ 8.9 billion, just months after a round of $ 380 million for a valuation of $ 3.8 billion. dollars. Together, the three most recent rounds add up to roughly $ 2.5 billion in funding over the span of 10 months, and the idea here seems to be that there could be more where that came from.
“Like Gopuff Continuing to define the economy of Instant Needs, we are delighted to have new, leading global partners on board, as well as the support of our long-time investors, ”Ilishayev said in a statement. “This funding round is further validation of the success of our model and will allow us to continue doing what we do best: delivering an unparalleled customer experience. “
“We have truly doubled our key business priorities, accelerating our geographic expansion by entering new markets in the United States and abroad, innovating for our customers, and continuing to invest heavily in our technology, people and partners.” , Gola added. . “We look forward to continuing to improve the customer experience and bring the magic of Gopuff to new customers around the world.
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