TL;DR
- Instacart is a goods delivery application that aims to provide essential goods to people across the U.S. and Canada.
- The COVID-19 pandemic increased the demand for grocery delivery and led to the massive growth that Instacart experienced over 2020.
- In October of 2020, Instacart raised $200 million of Series H venture funding, which led to a company valuation of $17.5 billion.
- Former Goldman Sachs employee, Nick Giovanni was recently appointed as Instacart CFO, signaling to the public that Instacart is gearing up for its highly anticipated IPO.
A quick company history of Instacart
Instacart is an on-demand goods delivery application service that was founded by former Amazon employee, Apoorva Mehta in 2012. The service aims to provide essential goods to people and families across the U.S. and Canada. The company offers same-day delivery and pickup service of fresh groceries and everyday essentials. Customers can order groceries from participating retailers through Instacarts app or website and a personal shopper shops on their behalf.
Instacart has 40,000 stores across over 5,500 cities on its platform. Membership isnt required to shop on Instacart, but delivery, pickup, and/or service fees may be required. Instacart allows a customer to interact with their personal shopper as they shop and deliver chosen items. The company experienced incredible growth during Covid-19 as more customers needed access to groceries without going to the physical store. Due to the increase in demand, Instacart hired over 300,000 new employees this past year.
Instacart fundraising
Instacart raised $200 million of Series H venture funding in a deal led by Valiant Capital Partners and D1 Capital Partners on October 8, 2020, putting the company at a valuation of $17.5 billion. The funds were used to focus on introducing new features and tools to the Instacart application to improve the customer experience. Previously, the company raised $325 million of Series G venture funding in a deal led by DST Global and General Catalyst on July 3, 2020.
Path to the Instacart IPO
Since being founded in 2012, Instacart has grown considerably. Over the years, Instacart created vital partnerships with major retailers like Kroger, Sams Club, and Costco. More recently, Instacart has expanded into prescription and alcohol delivery.
The Covid-19 pandemic increased the need for delivery services and consequently altered the landscape of traditional in-store shopping. During the pandemic, Instacart experienced growth that the company didnt expect to see until 2025. Instacart surpassed Walmarts food delivery performance and became second to only Amazon. CEO and founder, Apoorva Mehta believes that growth will continue in the post-pandemic world. New partnerships with retailers like Sephora and Best Buy paint a bright future for the digital delivery marketplace.
In late January 2021, Instacart appointed a new CFO, Nick Giovanni, who worked closely on bringing many companys public in his prior position at Goldman Sachs. This strategic hire makes it clear that Instacart is gearing up to go public.
When is the Instacart IPO date?
Instacart announced that Goldman Sachs will be the underwriter for their IPO which is speculated to take place in the first half of 2021. That being said, Instacart has not filed an S-1 filing with the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission). A companys IPO date typically occurs a month or two after the S-1 is released to the public.
Bottom line
Instacart experienced incredible growth over the past year due to the increased demand for grocery delivery amidst the Covid-19 pandemic. Instacarts CEO and founder Apoorva Mehta believes the demand will continue in a post-pandemic world. The new demand for the app has investors wondering when the Instacart IPO will occur. Given that Instacart has announced Goldman Sachs as the underwriter for the IPO and appointed an ex-Goldman Sachs employee as CFO, many believe the IPO will happen in the first half of 2021.