In an effort to expand its presence in city centers, DoorDash has agreed to buy Square’s rival food delivery service Caviar for $410 million.
The deal, announced on Thursday, is the result of a longtime connection between Square CEO Jack Dorsey and DoorDash CEO Tony Xu, who previously worked for Dorsey in 2012. The acquisition is DoorDash’s first large acquisition.
“We have not been shopping around,” Xu said. But when Dorsey reached out about a month ago looking to offload Caviar, Xu said he saw an opportunity.
DoorDash already provides delivery services for more than 310,000 restaurants across 4,000 cities in the U.S. And Canada. But it has historically expanded across suburban areas. Meanwhile, Caviar, founded in 2012, has focused on urban cores.
“Adding merchant selection, getting great complement in geographic focus and getting a talented team—those are the reasons we thought this was a good deal,” Xu said.
The details of how the two services would be integrated haven’t been determined.
DoorDash, founded in 2013, is still in growth mode, Xu said. The company was most recently valued at $12.6 billion after a $600 million funding round in May, according to PitchBook. The delivery service has been one of the most capitalized player in the industry, raising $1.97 billion since inception, as it competes against the rivals Uber Eats, Grubhub, and Postmates.
In addition to its restaurant delivery, DoorDash also earns money from its DoorDash Drive platform, which allows businesses to integrate DoorDash’s technology and fulfillment services into its own app or website. The platform helped DoorDash land Walmart and become as its largest delivery partner, serving 1,000 stores nationwide. DoorDash also generates revenue from its a service that lets customers order food online for pick it up themselves, and DashPass, its monthly subscription offering.
And there are more services coming, Xu said.
“Restaurant delivery is just the beginning on how we hope to touch and grow every local business,” he said.
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