The online food delivery market seems to have become the one sector that is offering massive business opportunities globally. There was slow growth in this sector in 2020 due to the economic slowdown across countries owing to the lockdown. However, the global online food delivery market size is projected to exceed $164.5B (approx €135.4B) by 2024, expanding at a CAGR of 11.4 per cent during 2019-2024. Every company in this sector wants to grow along with the industry, and one such startup in the sector that wants to disrupt the market is Wolt.
Wolt raises €436.4M
The Helsinki-based food delivery company specialising in real-time logistics optimisation has raised $530M (approx €436.4M) in a fresh round of funding led by ICONIQ Growth. Besides, Tiger Global, DST, KKR, Prosus, EQT Growth, and Coatue also participated in this round as new investors.
In addition to new investors, Wolt’s existing investors, including 83North, Highland Europe, Goldman Sachs Growth Equity, EQT Ventures, and Vintage Investment Partners also invested in this round.
Use of the funds
Speaking about the use of the raised capital, Miki Kuusi, CEO & co-founder of Wolt says, “We operate in an extremely competitive and well-funded industry, and this round allows us to have a long-term mindset when it comes to doubling down on our different markets.”
He further adds, “Despite the turbulence of 2020, we’ve remained focused on growth, tripling our revenue to a preliminary $345M (approx €284.1M) against a net loss of $45M (approx €37M). Compared to the $662M (approx €545.1M) in new capital that we’ve raised during the past year, this puts us into a strong position for investing in our people, technology, and markets when thinking about the next few years ahead.”
The funding comes following Wolt’s rapid expansion within the grocery and retail sectors during 2020, as Wolt already partners with over 1500 stores across different markets.
Everything about Wolt
The company was founded in 2014 by Elias Aalto, Juhani Mykkänen, Lauri Andler, Mika Matikainen, Miki Kuusi, and Oskari Petas.
Wolt is a technology company that makes it incredibly easy to discover and get the best restaurants, grocery stores, and other local shops delivered to your doorstep.
Wolt launched in Helsinki, Finland with ten restaurants. In just five years, the company has expanded to 23 countries and 129 cities. Currently, Wolt works together with over 30,000 restaurant and retail partners as well as with over 60,000 courier partners.
During the past year, Wolt has gone beyond restaurants and takeaways into the grocery and retail sectors. For example, it’s now possible to purchase everything from cosmetics to pet food and pharmaceuticals on the platform. It currently employs over 2200 people.
Previous fundings
Wolt has raised $856M (approx €705M) in funding, to date, from investors such as ICONIQ Capital, Tiger Global, DST, Prosus, KKR, Coatue, 83North, Goldman Sachs, Highland Europe and EQT Ventures & EQT Growth, among others.
Below are the company’s previous funding rounds:
- In May 2020, Series D round €100M;
- In June 2019, Series C $130M (approx €107M);
- In Jan 2018, Series B $30M (approx €24.7M);
- In April 2016, Series A $12.5M (approx €10.2M);
- In Nov 2015, Seed round $2.5M (approx €2M);
- In Nov 2014, Seed round $500K (approx €411K)
