Germany’s grocery delivery unicorn Gorillas bags nearly $1B in Series C round led by Delivery Hero

Berlin-based grocery delivery startup Gorillas announced that it has secured close to $1B (approx €858.4M) in its Series C round of funding. The company claims that this is the largest funding Europe’s grocery delivery sector has seen for a non-listed business entity.

The current funding comes after the $290M in funding the company had raised just in its Series B round in March 2021.

Investors in this round

The round was led by Berlin-based food delivery giant Delivery Hero. Existing investors Coatue Management, DST Global, Tencent, Atlantic Food Labs, Fifth Wall, Greenoaks, and A also invested in this round.

Niklas Östberg, CEO & co-founder of Delivery Hero, says, “Gorillas has been setting new standards for the delivery industry by offering an efficient and sustainable alternative to traditional grocers. We have been following their stellar growth over the past few months, and we are beyond excited to be now part of their journey. Both of our companies place a lot of value on creating a strong sense of community and we are convinced that our investment will positively impact employees, consumers as well as our industry.”

New investors G Squared, Alanda Capital, Macquarie Capital, MSA Capital, and Thrive Capital also participated in this round. 

Capital utilisation

Since its inception in June 2020, the company witnessed rapid growth and currently operates over 180 warehouses, delivering over 4.5 million orders in the past 6 months alone. With such growth, Gorillas is looking to build a scalable and robust business infrastructure while accelerating future growth. 

The proceeds from this round will enable the company to reinforce its footprint in existing markets while investing deeply in its operations, people, technology, marketing, and finance infrastructures. 

Kağan Sümer, CEO and Founder of Gorillas says, “The size of today’s funding round by an extraordinary investment consortium underscores the tremendous market potential that lies ahead of us. With Delivery Hero, we have chosen strong strategic support that is deeply rooted in the global delivery market and is renowned for having a unique experience in sustainably scaling a German company internationally. We have the best team in our sector, leading partners, and financial resources to strengthen our market-leading position in Europe and beyond.”

Recently, the company expanded its global senior management team to facilitate its ambitions for sustainable growth. It has appointed Elmar Broscheit as CFO, Adrian Frenzel as COO, and Deena Fox as CPO.

All about Gorillas

Founded by Kağan Sümer in 2020, Gorillas is a grocery delivery provider that claims to deliver goods to its customers’ doorstep in just 10 minutes. The platform has access to more than 2000 essential items at retail prices for a delivery fee of just over €1.80.

Within the last year, Gorillas has developed a strong international footprint, operating in nine countries, 55 cities, and employing more than 11,000 people. The company provides all riders with fixed employment contracts, health insurance, employer-financed accident insurance, and paid vacation.

Currently, their app is available in Germany, France, Italy, the US, Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium, the UK, and Denmark.