Instacart slashes its valuation by almost 40% to $24 billion, Retail News, ET Retail

Instacart Inc. is slashing its valuation by almost 40% to about $24 billion, a move it says will help the company attract talent and adapt to market conditions.

The company had been valued at $39 billion in its most recent fundraising round, when it snagged $265 million last year from investors such as Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia Capital and D1 Capital Partners, as well as Fidelity Management & Research Co. and T. Rowe Price Associates Inc.

Instacart aims to boost recruiting and retention efforts by aligning new equity awards for new hires and existing employees with the updated valuation. The decision comes as the company navigates souring investor sentiment in technology companies across private and public markets.

“Our team built Instacart into the market leader it is today, and we believe investing in them is the right thing to do,” Instacart said in a statement. “Markets go up and down, but we are focused on Instacart’s long-term opportunity to power the future of grocery with our partners.”

Instacart, best known for an app that lets consumers order groceries online from a selection of stores, became a designated essential service at the height of the pandemic. But like Uber Technologies Inc. and DoorDash Inc., the company’s growth stalled as the pandemic began to wane.

The prospect of higher interest rates, inflation and a potential recession also has weighed on its valuation. Still, Instacart has boosted its revenue by 20% to $1.8 billion in 2021, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Earlier this week, Instacart launched a platform of services to sell to supermarkets in a bid to bolster it’s enterprise business to tap new areas of growth.