Instacart

Reviewed ipo Updated Mar 13, 2026

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Location San Francisco, California
Founded 2012
Latest Stage IPO
Total Raised $2.9B
Website https://www.instacart.com
Sector
grocery-delivery logistics marketplace e-commerce

Investors

Ron Conway Series A (2013)
Alfred Lin Series A (Sequoia-led; Lin not individually confirmed) (2013)
Mary Meeker Growth (2015)
Ravi Gupta Board seat (public) (2023)
Yuri Milner Growth (2020)
Philippe Laffont ~2020 (2020)
Garry Tan Seed (2012)
Dan Sundheim Series F (led) (2018)
Fabrice Grinda Early (2014)
Anu Hariharan Late growth (2018)
Elad Gil Early stage (2013)
Michael Moritz Series B (2013)
Jesse Robbins ~2013 (2013)
Sam Altman Early stage (2013)
Daniel Gross Angel (2012)
Paul Buchheit ~2012 (2012)
Bennett Siegel ~2019 (2019)
Kareem Zaki Growth (2018)
Vinod Khosla Seed (2012)
Jared Friedman Seed (2012)
Jeff Jordan Series B ($44M round) (2014)
SV Angel Series A (2013)
Sequoia Capital Series A (Sequoia-led; Lin not individually confirmed) (2013)
BOND Growth (2015)
DST Global Growth (2020)
Coatue Management ~2020 (2020)
Y Combinator Seed (2012)
D1 Capital Partners Series F (led) (2018)
FJ Labs Early (2014)
avra Late growth (2018)
independent Early stage (2013)
Heavybit ~2013 (2013)
NFDG Angel (2012)
Standard Capital ~2012 (2012)
A* ~2019 (2019)
gil-capital Early stage (2013)
Thrive Capital Growth (2018)
Khosla Ventures Seed (2012)
Andreessen Horowitz Series B ($44M round) (2014)
General Catalyst
Initialized Capital
Kleiner Perkins
Tiger Global Management

Founders

Apoorva Mehta CEO & Founder
Max Mullen Co-Founder
Brandon Leonardo Co-Founder

About

Instacart is a grocery delivery and pickup platform founded in 2012 by Apoorva Mehta, who was later joined by co-founders Max Mullen and Brandon Leonardo during his time at Y Combinator 1. Mehta, who studied engineering at the University of Waterloo, spent two years working on supply-chain logistics at Amazon before leaving to build his own company 1. The inspiration came from being low on groceries without owning a car and experiencing the difficulty of taking the bus in cold Canadian weather 1.

Mehta initially missed the Y Combinator application deadline but secured an investment after using the Instacart app to send a six-pack of beer to a Y Combinator partner 1. The company went on to raise over $2.9 billion across 17 funding rounds 2.

Instacart went public on September 19, 2023, raising $660 million in its IPO on the Nasdaq under the ticker “CART” at $30 per share, valuing the company at approximately $9.9 billion on a fully diluted basis 31415. Goldman Sachs and J.P. Morgan served as lead book-running managers, with BofA Securities, Barclays, and Citigroup as additional book-runners 1415. This was a significant markdown from its peak private valuation of $39 billion in March 2021 4. Mehta left the company after it went public 3.

The December 2014 Series C was led by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, initially reported at over $100 million on a $2 billion valuation 16, and ultimately closing at $220 million in January 2015 with participation from Comcast Ventures, Dragoneer Investment Group, Thrive Capital, Valiant Capital, and existing backers Andreessen Horowitz, Khosla Ventures, and Sequoia 17. The April 2018 Series E extension added $150 million led by Coatue Management at a $4.35 billion valuation, bringing the total Series E to $350 million; participants included Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Glade Brook Capital Partners, Kleiner Perkins, Khosla Ventures, and Thrive Capital 818.

Instacart is headquartered in San Francisco, California and serves customers across the United States and Canada 1.

Funding History

Round Date Amount Lead Investor(s) Notable Co-Investors
Seed 2012 $2.3M Y Combinator Khosla Ventures, Kleiner Perkins, Canaan Partners, Collab Fund
Series A Jul 2013 $8.5M Sequoia Capital SV Angel
Series B Jun 2014 $44M Andreessen Horowitz American Express Ventures, Sequoia Capital
Series C 2014-12-05 $220M Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers Comcast Ventures, Dragoneer Investment Group, Thrive Capital, Valiant Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Khosla Ventures, Sequoia Capital
Series D Mar 2017 $400M Sequoia Capital Wellcome Trust, Y Combinator Continuity, Andreessen Horowitz, Khosla Ventures, Kleiner Perkins, Initialized Capital, Thrive Capital, Valiant Capital
Series E Feb 2018 $200M Coatue Management Glade Brook Capital
Series E ext. 2018-04-05 $150M Coatue Management Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Glade Brook Capital Partners, Kleiner Perkins, Khosla Ventures, Thrive Capital
Series F Oct 2018 $600M D1 Capital Partners Tiger Global Management
Series G Jun 2020 $225M DST Global, General Catalyst D1 Capital Partners
Late Stage Oct 2020 $200M D1 Capital Partners Valiant Peregrine Fund
Late Stage Mar 2021 $265M Existing investors Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia, D1 Capital, Fidelity, T. Rowe Price
IPO 2023-09-19 $660M Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan BofA Securities, Barclays, Citigroup

Sources: 25678910111415161718

What Investors Say

Sequoia Capital’s Mike Moritz, who led the firm’s Series A investment, said that Instacart was “fulfilling its role as a vital service for consumers, a reliable partner for retailers and an effective platform for advertisers” 4.

Sequoia led Instacart’s $8.5 million Series A round in 2013 when the price was just 24 cents a share, and Andreessen Horowitz led the next round at $2.98 per share 4. Both firms invested $50 million each in 2021 at $125 per share for a $39 billion valuation during the pandemic-driven delivery boom 4.

Sequoia contributed $100 million to the $400 million Series D round in March 2017, demonstrating continued conviction in the company’s growth trajectory 7.

What Founders Say

Apoorva Mehta on building Instacart: “Building Instacart over the last 10 years has been the most challenging and fulfilling experience of my life” 12.

On the company’s identity: “We’re not just a delivery company. We’re a technology company that’s reimagining the way people shop for groceries” 13.

On overcoming obstacles: “We were rejected by investors who told us that bringing the grocery industry online would prove to be impossible. Retailers were reluctant to work with us because they did not believe a technology startup out of San Francisco would understand the nuances of the grocery business or would want to help their companies thrive. And, we were constantly questioned about whether we could be profitable in such a thin margin industry” 12.

On leadership: “I’ve counseled a lot of leaders at Instacart to think about the big picture: to put the company before themselves, to take the long-term view, and to never be afraid of giving away their legos. I have found that this attitude creates a stronger, more resilient team and company” 12.

Sources

  1. “What is Brief History of Instacart Company?,” MatrixBCG.com, accessed March 2026. https://matrixbcg.com/blogs/brief-history/instacart↩↩↩↩↩

  2. Instacart funding rounds, Tracxn, accessed March 2026. https://tracxn.com/d/companies/instacart/__uHj6iMiVPjyy8B-qg4i60ME-1ie-3EMzePmuRMEQr14/funding-and-investors↩↩

  3. “Instacart’s founder is worth $1.3 billion after IPO,” Fortune, September 19, 2023, accessed March 2026. https://fortune.com/2023/09/19/instacart-cofounder-net-worth/↩↩

  4. “Sequoia and Andreessen to take a huge hit on their 2021 Instacart investment,” CNBC, September 15, 2023, accessed March 2026. https://www.cnbc.com/2023/09/15/sequoia-andreessen-set-to-take-massive-hit-on-2021-instacart-investment.html↩↩↩↩

  5. Instacart Crunchbase profile, accessed March 2026. https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/instacart/company_financials↩

  6. “A brief history of Instacart, from startup to planned IPO,” Supermarket News, accessed March 2026. https://www.supermarketnews.com/grocery-technology/a-brief-history-of-instacart-from-startup-to-planned-ipo↩

  7. “Instacart raises $400 million at a $3.4 billion valuation,” TechCrunch, March 7, 2017, accessed March 2026. https://techcrunch.com/2017/03/07/instacart-raises-400-million-at-a-3-4-billion-valuation-to-deliver-groceries-on-demand/↩↩

  8. “Instacart closes Series E funding with fresh $150M,” YourStory, April 2018, accessed March 2026. https://yourstory.com/2018/04/instacart-series-e-funding-coatue-management/amp↩↩

  9. “Instacart Announces $600 Million in New Funding Led by D1 Capital Partners,” Instacart press release, October 2018, accessed March 2026. https://www.instacart.com/company/pressreleases/instacart-announces-600-million-in-new-funding-led-by-d1-capital-partners/↩

  10. “Instacart nabs nearly $14 billion valuation in new funding round,” CNBC, June 11, 2020, accessed March 2026. https://www.cnbc.com/2020/06/11/instacart-raises-new-funding-now-valued-at-nearly-14-billion.html↩

  11. “Instacart raises $265M at a $39B valuation,” TechCrunch, March 2, 2021, accessed March 2026. https://techcrunch.com/2021/03/02/instacart-raises-265m-at-a-39b-valuation/↩

  12. “A Letter From Instacart Founder Apoorva Mehta,” Instacart company blog, accessed March 2026. https://www.instacart.com/company/updates/a-letter-from-instacart-founder-apoorva-mehta↩↩↩

  13. “Founder Story: Apoorva Mehta of Instacart,” Frederick.ai, accessed March 2026. https://www.frederick.ai/blog/apoorva-mehta-instacart↩

  14. “Instacart Announces Pricing of Initial Public Offering,” Instacart press release, September 18, 2023, accessed April 2026. https://www.instacart.com/company/pressreleases/instacart-announces-pricing-of-initial-public-offering↩↩↩

  15. “Cooley Advises Instacart on $660 Million IPO,” Cooley LLP, September 19, 2023, accessed April 2026. https://www.cooley.com/news/coverage/2023/2023-09-19-cooley-advises-instacart-on-660-million-ipo↩↩↩

  16. “Instacart Is Raising North Of $100 Million At A $2 Billion Valuation,” TechCrunch, December 5, 2014, accessed April 2026. https://techcrunch.com/2014/12/05/instacart-2b-kleiner/↩↩

  17. “Instacart raises $220 million investment,” CNBC, January 12, 2015, accessed April 2026. https://www.cnbc.com/2015/01/12/instacart-raises-220-million-investment.html↩↩

  18. “Instacart – $350 Million Series E,” Cooley LLP, April 12, 2018, accessed April 2026. https://www.cooley.com/news/coverage/2018/2018-04-12-instacart-350-million-series-e↩↩