Marc Lore’s Wonder Ties $9 Billion-Valuation Fundraise to Future IPO
The Takeaway
- Wonder is offering investors in its latest financing extra shares pegged to a future IPO.
- The meal preparation and delivery company is raising at a $9 billion valuation.
- CEO Marc Lore has indicated he’ll write a $200 million check into the fundraise.
Wonder, the owner of GrubHub and Blue Apron, is lining up hundreds of millions of dollars, at a valuation of $9 billion, in what could be its last round before going public. To seal the deal, founder Marc Lore has been offering investors sweeteners—and putting his own money in the pot.
The company has arranged to give investors in the financing extra shares if Wonder’s stock price in an initial public offering is less than 1.5 times the price of shares in this round, a provision known as an IPO ratchet, according to the company’s filings with Delaware regulators, which were provided by data firm Caplight. And Lore has indicated he’ll write a $200 million check into the round, according to a person briefed on the fundraise. Lore has told Wonder’s staff an IPO could happen as soon as next year.
The incentives speak to the gamble serial entrepreneur Lore is taking on eight-year-old Wonder, which is awash in red ink after spending around $250 million in cash when it purchased Grubhub, the restaurant meal delivery company, and Blue Apron, the meal prep service, within the last three years. Wonder also took on $500 million in Grubhub’s debt as part of the 2024 acquisition.
Wonder, which also operate food halls that offer takeout, expects to generate just under $2 billion in net revenue this year, $3 billion in 2028 and nearly $5.5 billion by 2030, according to materials prepared for potential investors. The New York-based startup has projected burning nearly $2.7 billion in cash between this year and 2029 before it starts generating cash in 2030, according to the materials.
It’s expected to lose about $618 million before interest, depreciation, amortization, taxes and other costs this year before making about $111 million in 2029 on an adjusted EBITDA basis, according to the materials.
Those costs may have capped the company’s earlier fundraising ambitions. The company set out earlier this year to raise at a $11 billion valuation, up from $7 billion last year including the money raised, The Information previously reported.
A spokesperson for Wonder declined to comment.
Startup founders have used IPO ratchets to raise equity while also giving more protection to investors who otherwise might bargain to buy shares at a lower price. This protection can aid founders during market downturns when mature startups face valuation cuts, or down rounds. But founders risk diluting their stake if the ratchet kicks in.
Wonder has previously used such incentives when it sold shares. In its May 2025 Series C funding, it promised investors extra shares if the IPO price is less than 2.5 times the price paid in that round. And if Wonder doesn’t IPO by May 2030, investors in that round potentially get more shares for every month of delay, according to the documents filed to regulators.
Lore started Wonder after selling his company Jet.com to Walmart in 2016 and then running the retailer’s U.S. e-commerce business for several years. Wonder makes money from charging restaurant fees for delivery and for sale of its meal kits and the prepared meals from its ghost kitchens.
Delivery businesses usually need to discount the services to entice more consumers and businesses on their network, which can weigh on margins. Uber’s delivery segment, which encompasses the Uber Eats restaurant and grocery delivery services, had an adjusted EBITDA margin of 21% in 2025, while its ride-hailing segment had a 27% margin.
Existing investor New Enterprise Associates has discussed co-leading Wonder’s new funding round. Accel and Google Ventures, which also previously invested, have also discussed buying shares, the person added. Spokespeople for the firms declined to comment.
If Wonder were to go public next year, it would be following other consumer companies trying to tap into investor interest in companies that are relatively insulated from AI-related market gyrations. Scooter-rental company Lime went public last week, and IPOs from smart ring company Oura and clothing maker Reformation are expected to follow.