Delivery Startup Gorillas Looks to Raise $700M

Gorillas Technologies, a grocery delivery startup operating in the U.K., U.S. and France, is looking to raise over half a billion dollars in new financing this year, Bloomberg reported Friday (Feb. 25).

Gorillas is one of the bigger companies delivering groceries and other things, purporting to be able to do so “within minutes.” Investors have been big on grocery delivery startups in the pandemic, as delivery companies were a prime way to get food to people wary of going out amid the coronavirus.

But these days, things are gearing up for more profitability, and the companies are beginning to consolidate. For example, Gorillas has recently bought out Frichti, a French delivery company.

According to Gorillas CEO Kagan Sumer, the goal was to raise at least $700 million, if not more. He said he wants the business to become profitable.

“Last year, we not only built Gorillas into the clear pan-European leader, but also demonstrated a clear path to profitability across our markets,” he added in a statement on Friday, per Bloomberg.

PYMNTS wrote about the Frichti acquisition in January, writing that the combined company will have the second-largest market share in the food delivery space in Paris, with 17.1%.

See also: Gorillas to Snap Up Frichti for Bigger Slice of Food Delivery Pie

That put the company ahead of Carrefour and behind Casino Guichard-Perrachon, per data from Nielsen. The deal was still in the works when PYMNTS wrote the report.

Gorillas’ interest in Frichti came from its expertise in making private label brands and pre-made meals, according to Sumer. He added that they were looking to scale operations with intersecting geographies, and that quick commerce was a first step before the company expanded into other things.

The deal gave Gorillas access to the Fricht customer base of more than 450,000 people, along with the 25 micro fulfillment centers across eight cities in France and Belgium.