It’s been clear that Amazon has its hungry eyes on the meal-delivery space, but it’s now making its big move with word that Seattle’s deliver-everything giant led a $575 million financing round in London-based Deliveroo, one of Europe’s largest third-party delivery platforms.
Originally founded in 2013 and now operating in more than 200 cities across Europe, as well as portions of the Middle East and Asia, Deliveroo posted revenues of $354 million USD in 2017. Reacting to the news, some industry watchers have suggested this investment is a bad sign for newly public Uber, which has taken its Uber Eats brand across the globe. This brings Deliveroo’s total investor cash pile to a staggering $1.53 billion pounds.
In announcing the news on its own site, Deliveroo said Amazon will be the largest investor in this Series G funding round, which also includes T Rowe Price, Fidelity and Greenoaks financial firms. The new cash will be invested “heavily” in expanding Deliveroo’s tech team at its UK headquarters, while also funding further expansion into new markets—as well as continued innovation in its “Editions” delivery-only kitchens.
Will Shu, founder and CEO of Deliveroo, said “Amazon has been an inspiration to me personally and to the company, and we look forward to working with such a customer-obsessed organization. This is great news for the tech and restaurant sectors, and it will help to create jobs in all of the countries in which we operate.”
Doug Gurr, Amazon UK Country manager, stated Deliveroo’s approach and dedication to providing customers with “an ever increasing selection of great restaurants along with convenient delivery options,” was one of the reasons they decided to invest.
Even though Deliveroo doesn’t currently have a presence in the United States, the brand works with more than 80,000 restaurants with 60,000 drivers and 2,500 employees in its office around the globe. It currently isn’t operating at significant scale anywhere in the Americas.
