The German delivery startup Gorillas is looking to raise about $500 million at a $6 billion valuation following a $290 million Series B round in March, Bloomberg reported on Friday (May 7), citing sources.
By tapping community warehouses, the digital platform offers delivery of groceries and other household staples in as little as 10 minutes. Founded in Berlin, Gorillas operates in 18 cities in Germany, the Netherlands, London and Paris.
The fresh round of capital is at an early stage, and the total amount raised and valuation could change, the sources told Bloomberg.
The German startup’s March funding valued Gorillas at more than $1 billion, making it a unicorn. That round was led by Coatue Management, DST Global, Tencent, Atlantic Food Labs, Dragoneer and Fifth Wall. The company also raised $44 million in a Series A funding round in December of 2020.
The company said it planned to give $1 million from the March funding to its warehouse staff and riders, according to a blog post last month, per Bloomberg. “It remains our mission to build a strong and diverse community who are proud to be a part of Gorillas, whilst we provide them with a fair compensation, [and] the best tools and processes to make riding feel more like sports rather than work — fun, energizing and collaborative,” according to the post.
Delivery platforms are flourishing, buoyed by the pandemic lockdowns and investors gambling that the habits consumers have adopted over the last year will have staying power. The delivery app Getir, based in Istanbul, Turkey, completed a $300 million Series C funding in March after finalizing a $128 million Series B in January at a possible $7 billion valuation, sources told Bloomberg.
Meanwhile, the SoftBank-backed U.S. delivery app GoPuff recently made its first European acquisition of the U.K.-based Fancy.
Delivery by third-party apps of groceries, staples and other merchandise surged roughly 346 percent last year. And quick commerce, also known as q-commerce, has the attention of venture capitalists
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