GrubHub Owner Eyes $9 Billion Valuation in New Funding Round
GrubHub/Blue Apron owner Wonder is reportedly arranging hundreds of millions of dollars in new funding.
That’s according to a Wednesday (July 8) report from The Information, which said the round—potentially Wonder’s last before going public—could value the company at $9 billion.
Wonder has arranged to give investors extra shares if its stock price in an initial public offering (IPO) is less than 1.5 times the price of shares in this round, the report said, citing regulatory filings. And Founder Marc Lore has indicated he’ll contribute $200 million to the round, a source briefed on the fundraise told The Information.
The Information frames these incentives as an illustration of the gamble Lore has made with Wonder. The company is in the red after spending about $250 million in cash to acquire restaurant delivery platform GrubHub and meal prep service Blue Apron in the space of three years. Wonder also took on $500 million in Grubhub’s debt in that deal, the report added.
New York-based Wonder, which also operates food halls for takeout orders, expects to bring in little less than $2 billion in net revenue this year, $3 billion in 2028 and close to $5.5 billion by 2030, the report added, citing materials prepared for potential investors.
The startup has forecast burning almost $2.7 billion in cash between this year and 2029 before it starts generating cash in 2030, the same materials said.
Lore, who founded Jet.com and served as Walmart U.S. eCommerce president and CEO, launched Wonder as a mobile “on-demand home dining” experience, combining food trucks and ghost kitchens. The business also struck deals with top chefs to bring gourmet kitchens to customers’ doors, as PYMNTS has reported.
Earlier this year, Lore said the company plans to offer an artificial intelligence (AI) tool that will let people create restaurants that will operate through Wonder’s infrastructure that offers meals from different restaurants within each location.
Speaking at The Wall Street Journal’s Future of Everything event, Lore said the customers using this service could be “anybody that has the ability to drive demand.”
“It could be a mega influencer, anyone that wants to monetize their following, or it could be a private trainer that wants to make specific bowls,” Lore said. “It could be a not-for-profit. It could be Disney for their new movie. Anybody can make a restaurant.”
