GoPuff raises $1.15 billion at $8.9 billion valuation

The company announced on Tuesday that it had raised $1.15 billion at a valuation of $8.9 billion. This is a significant increase from GoPuff's last round of financing in October 2020, when GoPuff was valued at $3.9 billion.

GoPuff said in a press release that it will use the new funds, including an investment from SoftBank Vision Fund 1, to continue expanding in the U.S. and internationally. It also plans to invest in new technology , talent and product categories such as beauty , baby products and healthier foods.

GoPuff, based in Philadelphia, was launched by two college students from Drexel University in 2013. The company aims to take over traditional convenience stores by offering a variety of household essentials such as over-the-counter medicines and cleaning supplies to snack foods and alcohol.

The company found early success among college students, but has since expanded beyond its consumer base to other demographics by offering what GoPuff calls “instant-need” products . The average GoPuff user is in their 30s, the company said .

“We have people from all walks of life subscribing to GoPuff, whether it’s moms who need diapers or baby products or pet owners who need pet food,” goPuff co-founder Rafael Ilishayev said in an interview . “ In fact , we ’re seeing the fastest year-over-year growth in these new innovative categories, rather than the traditional traditional core GoPuff categories where we launched.”

GoPuff said the service is available to customers in more than 650 cities across the U.S. It says it can deliver groceries to shoppers’ doorsteps in about 30 minutes via contracted delivery drivers who pick up items from one of the company’s roughly 250 micro-fulfillment centers.

Its physical presence also includes more than 160 stores operated by alcoholic beverage chain BevMo!, which it acquired last November for $350 million.

GoPuff raised more cash after the coronavirus pandemic pushed millions of consumers indoors, prompting them to rely on online services for essential and non-essential items . Food and grocery delivery services have seen a surge in activity, including goPuff, which saw a 400% year-over-year increase in orders in the first half of 2019 compared to the same period last year.

GoPuff isn’t the only company working to expand the range of products consumers can get delivered to their doorsteps within an hour or the same day. Amazon’s 2-Hour Fresh service, as well as DoorDash, Uber Eats, Postmates and Instacart have all added categories like groceries, personal care items and household goods.