Brief: Wolt raises $530m to grow on-demand delivery ‘beyond the restaurant’
Finland’s Wolt has pulled in $530 million in a backing round led by ICONIQ Growth.
“We raised this round [to] further strengthen our balance sheet, [to] think long-term and double down on building even stronger positions across our markets while continuing to expand our offering beyond the restaurant.”
Existing shareholders 83North, EQT Ventures, Goldman Sachs Growth Equity, Highland Europe. Vintage Investment Partners in addition participated alongside new backers Coatue Management, DST, EQT Growth, KKR, Tiger Global, and Prosus Ventures – a VC unit of Naspers. Since then it has expanded to over 30,000 restaurants across 129 cities in 23 countries – most in recent weeks, Germany and Japan . Like many other restaurant delivery apps, Wolt pivoted to additional on-demand services in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, which saw many foodservice establishments shuttered under lockdown restrictions and consumer concerns.
Among other things, it now delivers groceries, cosmetics, pet food, and medical supplies on appetite to users’ homes or workplaces. Wolt’s $530 million raise is the latest in a flurry of big-ticket investments into food delivery startups since the beginning of the year. UK-based Deliveroo netted $180 million in the run-up to its planned IPO, while Spain’s Glovo pulled in $121 million and Turkey’s Getir grabbed $128 million .
- Who: Finland’s Wolt · ICONIQ Growth · EQT Ventures · Goldman Sachs Growth Equity · Highland Europe
- Money: $530 million · $345 million · $45 million · $180 million
- Figures: 530 million · 345 million · 45 million · 180 million
