Instacart (ICART) could file for its long-awaited IPO with the SEC as early as next week. Sources indicated to Bloomberg that the online grocery delivery company decided against a direct listing in favor of a traditional IPO on the Nasdaq.
Instacart (ICART) became a designated essential service at the height of the COVID-19 lockdowns, but has seen growth slow after the pandemic dynamic reverted back to consumers going back to grocery stores. Instacart has expanded past grocery delivery since its founding in 2012. Earlier this year, the company launched a platform of services to sell to supermarkets in a bid to bolster its enterprise business. The company also has a higher-margin advertising business that is considered a critical part of its future. Instacart recently launched its back-to-school advertising campaign, highlighting how families can save on brands such as Chobani, Lunchables and Babybel and tackle school lunches with the “Ask Instacart” AI search tool. Of note, Instacart (ICART) is now accepting food stamp benefits in all 50 states. Instacart is the only online grocery service to accept Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, which is the service that provides millions of Americans access to food.
San Francisco-based Instacart (ICART) has raised a total of $2.9B in funding over 19 rounds, including its latest funding raise in November of 2021. Manhattan Venture Partners and Sequoia Capital are the most recent investors. Other investors include Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia Capital and D1 Capital Partners, Fidelity Management & Research, and T. Rowe Price Associates. Instacart has acquired seven different organizations in its pursuit of scale. The most recent acquisition was Rosie in September of 2022. Instacart (ICART) partners with more than 1.1K retail and grocery companies. Major competitors include Uber Technologies’ (UBER) Postmates, Shipt, FreshDirect, Peapod, Amazon Fresh (AMZN), Boxed, FreshDirect. DoorDash (DASH) and Just Eat Takeaway’s (OTCPK:JTKWY) Grubhub.
Source: Seeking Alpha
Omni Talk is the retail blog for retailers, written by retailers. Chris Walton and Anne Mezzenga founded Omni Talk in 2017 and have quickly turned it into one of the fastest growing blogs in retail. 