Above: Instacart is an app and a website where customers can order groceries form local stores.
Grocery delivery startup Instacart just raised $44 million from Andreessen Horowitz.
Founded in 2012, Apoorva Mehta created Instacart to help city goers shop for groceries from home. On paper, Instacart’s valuation sits around $400 million, a VentureBeat source claims. This valuation mirrors a previous report by TechCrunch.
Existing investors, including Sequoia, also participated, as did Box chief executive Aaron Levie and Y Combinator president Sam Altman.
To monetize, Instacart sets its own prices for goods — a decision which recently resulted in a cease and desist order from a key supplier: Trader Joes, a source familiar with the matter claims. That system quietly inserts additional fees, and often pushes the price of goods above other competing services.
In a phone interview, Instacart's Apoorva Mehta refused to comment on the Trader Joes ban.
Now live in 10 U.S. cities, Instacart plans to launch in 7 additional cities by the end of the year. Instacart claims its revenue has grown by 15x over the past nine months – although such a stat is meaningless without detailed figures.
In an official release, Instacart touts that it’s “the only service that can deliver groceries from multiple local stores within an hour.” However, competing startups like WunWun and Postmates advertise similar services.
Andreessen Horowitz is a $950 million venture capital firm that was launched on July 6, 2009. Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz are the general partners of the firm.... read more »
Instacart (YC S12) is a same-day grocery delivery startup offering delivery in as little as 1 hour. Focused on delivering groceries and home essentials, the company is looking to expand to other verticals very soon. Instacart already ... read more »
Apoorva Mehta is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Instacart Inc. Mr. Mehta was a former Amazon exec who started Y Combinator startup Instacart, an app whch delivers groceries to people via a network of drivers.... read more »
