TheChek News Flow

The Takeaway

Instacart is in talks to sell itself in a transaction that would cap the grocery delivery app’s 14-year run as a standalone company.

Currently valued at $12 billion, Instacart has been working with an investment bank to weigh its options and held at least preliminary conversations with DoorDash and Uber, according to people familiar with the matter, though talks with Uber are not ongoing, according to a person close to Uber. The potential buyer would acquire one of Silicon Valley’s best known consumer companies, which became a lifeline for many Americans during the Covid-19 lockdown.

There’s no guarantee Instacart’s talks to sell itself will lead to a deal. A typical takeover premium of 30% to 40% would value Instacart at roughly $16 billion to $17 billion, based on recent public tech deals. Instacart shares rose 10% in Friday regular trading after the report.

A bid for Instacart would likely invite antitrust scrutiny, however, given the overlap between its operations and those of possible acquirers such as DoorDash and Uber, both of which also offer grocery delivery. The Trump administration’s antitrust enforcers have been more willing to approve acquisitions with conditions, such as requiring certain business divestitures, though a combination of direct rivals would still face an investigation.

Instacart has long been speculated as a potential acquisition target for Uber, which has a $135 billion market cap, and DoorDash, whose market cap is roughly $80 billion. Instacart has had closer business ties to Uber in recent years, including a partnership in which customers could order restaurant delivery from Uber Eats through the Instacart app.

Uber executives have also had several conversations with Instacart over the years, according to people involved with them. But they didn’t progress as Uber focused on other acquisitions, which have ranged from Postmates in 2020 to Delivery Hero this year.

In 2021, Instacart, then valued privately at $39 billion, held talks with DoorDash on a potential sale that would value the grocery-delivery firm between $40 billion and $50 billion, The Information reported. The talks fell apart, at least partly due to questions about whether a combination could get approval from antitrust regulators during the Biden administration.

Instacart went public in 2023 at a valuation of $10 billion, after the end of the pandemic slowed its past torrid growth, lowering its valuation. Shares have risen 70% from the IPO price.

Since going public, the Instacart’s growth has paled in comparison to its larger rivals, despite a high-profile move into selling ads. Instacart’s annual revenue growth slowed to 11% for both 2024 and 2025, compared to 19% in 2023. In comparison, DoorDash’s revenue rose 28% in 2025 from the prior year, while revenues at Uber, which also includes a substantial ride-hailing business, rose 18% over that same period.

Another factor that may be constraining Instacart’s growth: Amazon. The ecommerce giant has continually expanded its grocery delivery efforts, especially after its acquisition of Whole Foods nearly a decade ago.

On the bright side, Instacart has been consistently generating cash in recent quarters and its growth has ticked up this year. In the second quarter this year, for instance, Instacart revenue rose 14% to $1 billion, and it generated $480 million in free cash flow. The company has said it’s using a majority of its free cash flows this year to buy back its shares, which have risen 16% so far this year.

Uber and DoorDash have been busy consolidating the food-delivery market in recent years. DoorDash bought European food delivery service Wolt in 2022 for about $8 billion, and it purchased British delivery service Deliveroo and restaurant software company SevenRooms last year.

Uber’s activities this year could make it more difficult to pursue another large-scale deal with Instacart. In recent months, Uber struck deals to buy European firm Delivery Hero for around $15 billion and workplace food-catering service ezCater for more than $2 billion.