Deliveroo just raised $275m to fend off Uber
Deliveroo, the London-based food delivery startup whose bikes are swarming the capital, has just raised another $275m (£209m) in an effort to ward off a growing threat from Uber.
The company said the Series E investment round was led by Bridgepoint, existing investor DST Global and General Catalyst, with participation from Greenoaks Capital.
The company said it has grown 400 per cent since its Series D round, last November, launching in 29 new cities and adding another 9,000 partners, including the likes of Pizza Express.
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It said the extra cash will be put towards expansion in new and existing markets, as well as providing further investment in projects such as RooBox, a "remote kitchen initiative".
But the company has faced increased competition from Uber, which launched its own delivery service, UberEats, in June.
Although UberEats is only available in central London, it has said it plans to expand the service.
But Will Shu, one of the Deliveroo's founders, said the company's focus was on the road ahead.
“After seeing strong growth in the markets we launched in November, our new focus is to drive further innovation in food delivery," he said.
"In particular, I’m excited about exploring completely new ways to solve the hardest problems restaurants face when offering delivery. RooBox is the first illustration of this approach, and innovations like these are at the heart of our mission."