Instacart is exploring a potential sale and has held preliminary talks with both Uber and DoorDash, according to a Friday report from The Information. The grocery delivery company, currently valued at about $13 billion, has brought in an investment bank to help weigh its options, according to people familiar with the matter cited in the report.
If a deal happens, a buyer paying the typical 30% to 40% premium seen in recent tech acquisitions would likely value Instacart at roughly $16 billion to $17 billion.
An Instacart spokesperson declined to comment when reached by The Post.
Antitrust Shadow Looms
Any acquisition by Uber or DoorDash would almost certainly draw antitrust scrutiny, since both companies already operate competing grocery delivery businesses. That same concern helped kill a prior deal: DoorDash held talks to buy Instacart back in 2021 at a valuation of $40 billion to $50 billion, but those discussions collapsed partly over worries about winning regulatory approval under the Biden administration, The Information previously reported.
Instacart and Uber already have business ties. The two companies struck a deal in 2024 allowing Instacart’s grocery app to offer restaurant delivery powered by Uber Eats. Last year, Uber began using Instacart’s Carrot Ads technology to run sponsored grocery placements on Uber Eats. Earlier merger talks between the two companies stalled when Uber turned its attention to other acquisition targets, according to the report.
A Company That’s Lost Its Shine
Instacart’s valuation trajectory tells the story of a pandemic-era darling that never recovered its peak. The company was valued at $39 billion in a 2021 private funding round during the grocery delivery boom. By the time it went public in 2023, that valuation had collapsed to roughly $10 billion. Shares have since climbed about 70% from the IPO price, but growth has slowed considerably — from 19% revenue growth in 2023 down to 11% in each of the following two years.
In the second quarter, Instacart generated $480 million in free cash flow on revenue that rose 14% year-over-year to just over $1 billion. The company has said it intends to put most of this year’s free cash flow toward buying back its own shares. Its push into advertising hasn’t been enough to close the revenue growth gap with rivals Uber and DoorDash.
Rivals Are Buying, Not Selling
While Instacart weighs its options, Uber and DoorDash have been on acquisition sprees. DoorDash, now valued at roughly $80 billion, posted 28% revenue growth in 2025 and bought Deliveroo and restaurant software company SevenRooms last year, three years after its roughly $8 billion purchase of European platform Wolt.
Uber, valued at about $135 billion, grew revenue 18% in 2025 across a business that includes ride-hailing. The company has agreed this year to pay roughly $15 billion for Delivery Hero and more than $2 billion for workplace catering service ezCater. The Information reported that Uber’s recent spending spree could complicate any bid it makes for Instacart.
Amazon, which owns Whole Foods, has also been expanding its own grocery delivery footprint, adding another competitive pressure point to the space.
No agreement has been reached, and the report notes a sale remains far from certain.
