UK-based online food ordering platform Deliveroo has raised $275m in a series E round featuring Nokia Growth Partners (NGP), the corporate venturing subsidiary of communications technology provider Nokia.
The round was co-led by private equity firm Bridgepoint, investment firm DST Global and venture capital firm General Catalyst, and also included investment firm Greenoaks Capital according to Sky News. TechCrunch reported the round valued Deliveroo at “around $1bn”.
Founded in 2012, Deliveroo operates an online platform through which users can order food from local restaurants and cafes to be delivered to their houses or workplaces by their distinctive motorcycle or bicycle couriers.
The company is present in 84 cities across Europe, the Middle East, Australia, Singapore and Hong Kong, and intends to use the funding to support aggressive growth in new and existing markets. It also plans to expand services such as alcohol delivery and its off-site kitchen, RooBox.
Paul Asel, managing partner of NGP, told Global Corporate Venturing: “We have been looking at the freight and logistics industry overall for some time. It is part of our Connected Fund, so last-mile delivery is an area that comes from the enhanced intelligence stemming from the convergence of cloud, mobile and sensors technologies.
“I think sensors allow to have more efficient services in the freight and logistics sector. So, last-mile delivery is one of the segments we’re looking at in that space.”
Deliveroo has now raised about $475m altogether, having secured $100m in a November 2015 series D round co-led by DST Global and Greenoaks Capital and backed by earlier investors Accel, Hummingbird Ventures and Index Ventures.