Instacart Now Reportedly Has A $4.35 Billion Valuation

About a month after Instacart raised $200 million in February, the grocery delivery platform has reportedly notched another $150 million in funding. As a result, Instacart’s Series E round has now reached $350 million – and the company now has a $4.35 billion valuation, TechCrunch reported.

“The online grocery market hit a tipping point last year, as more and more consumers demanded grocery delivery,” Instacart COO/CFO Ravi Gupta said in a statement. “We are excited to accelerate our plans to bring online grocery everywhere and to keep transforming the way people shop.”

The round was led by Coatue Management, with participation from Glade Brook Capital. Existing investors also joined the round. Instacart plans to use the funding to double the size of its team and expand its footprint across North America, as well as to invest in new products and services.

Before this latest funding, Instacart – which is facing intense competition from Amazon now that the eCommerce giant owns Whole Foods Market – was reportedly valued at approximately $4.2 billion.

“Recognizing that our shoppers need better tools and processes to be able to offer great customer service, we will be investing in building robust shopper support teams and software,” said CEO Apoorva Mehta at the time of the February funding. “And, of course, we will continue to grow sales for our retailers and [consumer packaged goods (CPG)] partners by strengthening our partnerships and innovating together.”

Instacart had a strong 2017, with its Express subscriber base increased by 300 percent and growth coming from around the country – and not just in big cities. It launched in more than 160 new metropolitan areas in 2017, and is now available in 70 million households in the U.S. and Canada combined.

The upbeat news out of the grocery delivery firm comes at a time when it is facing more competition with Amazon going after the same food delivery market. Amazon had announced it will deliver Whole Foods groceries via its Prime Now service in select U.S. cities, noting that the program will expand nationwide this year.