Inventure is a venture fund that specializes in helping its portfolio companies with talent and expansion. Since 2005, the team has been in venture with over 70 companies ranging from deep tech to consumer internet brands, including Wolt, Detectify, Blueprint Genetics, Swappie, and Insurello. With its €230 million assets under management, Inventure focuses on Seed and Series A investments across Nordics and Baltics, with offices in Helsinki and Stockholm.

Inventure

Lifeline Ventures Oy is a venture capital firm specializing in startups, growth capital, and early stage investments. The firm seeks to invest in healthcare, games, web based and general high technology sectors. It seeks to invest in Finland with a few investments made outside Finland as well. The firm targets investing between €0.5 million ($0.66 million) and €1 million ($1.32 million). It seeks make inception to Series A investments. Lifeline Ventures Oy was founded in November 2009 and is based in Helsinki, Finland.

Lifeline Ventures

A private investment firm run by Risto Siilasmaa and Kim Groop. Grounded in a deeply held set of values around entrepreneurship, trust, integrity and helping solve the world’s problems. We partner with strong and ambitious technology entrepreneurs driven by a mission to fix or build something important in the world.

First Fellow Partners

Illusian is the Founder Office of people who have founded and scaled companies like Supercell, Zalando, Wolt, Aiven, Pigment, and Smartly. While the group is still busy running their businesses, they've aligned their networks, capital, and expertise to simultaneously support the next generation of builders.

Illusian Founder Office

EQT Ventures is a European VC fund with just over €2.3 billion in total capital raised. EQT Ventures I launched in May 2016, with commitments totaling €566 million and a simple mission - to be the kind of VC the team would have liked to have had on their own startup journeys. Recognizing that building and growing a company takes more than just capital, the EQT Ventures team provides founders with support and advice throughout different stages of growth. EQT Ventures doesn't focus on particular markets or industries, but on bold and ambitious founders who have the grit and determination to build global success stories. EQT Ventures II launched in November 2019, with commitments totaling €660 million. EQT Ventures III launched in 2022, with commitments totaling €1.1 billion, making it the biggest European Venture Capital fund committed to early-stage tech startups. The EQT Ventures team is based across six offices in London, Stockholm, Berlin, Paris, Amsterdam, Paris, and San Francisco, taking a locals-with-locals approach and supporting founders on the ground. Motherbrain, EQT Ventures'  in-house-developed artificial intelligence (AI) platform, ensures the team has a data-driven approach and has driven more than $100 million in portfolio company investments.

EQT Ventures

Alfabeat is a seed and early stage venture capital fund for enterprise software companies, with a track record including a unicorn, and backed by successful enterprise software founders

Alfabeat

83North is a global venture capital firm with more than $1.8B million under management. The firm invests across all stages of consumer and enterprise companies and backed some of the fast-growing category leaders. 83North has two main offices in London and Herzliya.

83North

Highland Europe invests in rapidly growing European internet, mobile, and software companies that address large market opportunities and have over €10 million in annualized revenues. They can provide acquisition finance or lead secondary transactions as well as making primary investments. Their capital enables management teams to accelerate growth and build a lasting, valuable business. Highland Europe was launched in 2012 and closely collaborates with Highland Capital Partners, an independent global venture capital firm with a twenty-seven year investment experience and offices in Boston and Palo Alto.

Highland Europe

ICONIQ Growth partners with exceptional entrepreneurs and leaders who drive global impact and change. The firm is inspired by visionaries defining the future of their industries by building company cultures that endure. ICONIQ Growth has a unique investment platform harnesses the power of ICONIQ Capital’s vibrant ecosystem of founders, pioneers, and business leaders with the goal of delivering tangible value and amplifying our portfolio companies’ success from early growth stage to IPO and beyond. ICONIQ Growth’s portfolio of innovators includes Adyen, AirBnB, Alibaba, Alteryx, Automattic, BambooHR, Braze, Chime, Collibra, Coupa, Datadog, Docusign, Gitlab, Marqeta, Miro, Procore, Red Ventures, Relativity, ServiceTitan, Snowflake, Sprinklr, Truckstop, Uber, Wolt, and Zoom, among others.

ICONIQ Growth

As part of the Merchant Banking Division of Goldman Sachs, GS Growth is the firm’s investment platform dedicated to providing preferred equity and mezzanine capital to high-growth companies. As of June 2019, Goldman Sachs' investing groups (Goldman Sachs Growth Equity, Principal Strategic Investments, and Private Capital Investing) have combined to form the GS Growth team. The team targets investments of $20-250 million.

GS Growth

DST Global is an investment firm that funds late-stage ventures in the internet industry. Its investments include some of the world’s fastest-growing and most valuable companies. DST Global has offices in Menlo Park, New York, London, Beijing, and Hong Kong. The firm was founded in 2009 by Yuri Milner, Saurabh Gupta, John Lindfors, Rahul Mehta, and Tom Stafford.

DST Global

Founded in 2001, Tiger Global Management, LLC (“Tiger Global”) is a New York-based investment firm pursuing a long-term approach to investing in leading, global public and private companies that leverage technological innovation. Tiger Global’s public equity business includes fundamentally oriented long/short, long-focused and crossover strategies, targeting investments in high-quality, public growth companies. The private equity business invests in early through late stage companies that pursue innovative approaches to new and existing industries, building on over 20 years of experience investing in hundreds of businesses in more than 30 countries with more than 90 portfolio company IPOs. With a strong track record investing across sectors and stages, Tiger Global aims to be a thought partner to companies and their management teams across their lifecycle in public and private markets. The Firm’s mission is to generate world-class returns for its investors and to do so in a way that makes its employees, partners and portfolio companies proud.

Tiger Global Management

EQT is a private equity firm. They invest in companies and regions where there is an industrial approach. Their investment strategies include private capital, assets, credit, and public value, guided by an ownership approach and an industrial growth strategy.

Kohlberg Kravis Roberts is an investment firm that manages multiple alternative asset classes, including private equity, energy, infrastructure, real estate, credit, and, through its strategic partners, hedge funds. The company generates investment returns for its fund investors through a patient and disciplined investment approach, employing people, and driving growth and value creation with KKR portfolio companies. The company invests its own capital alongside the capital it manages for fund investors and delivers financing solutions and investment opportunities through its capital markets business. The firm has completed more than two-hundred-eighty private equity investments in portfolio companies with approximately $545 billion of total enterprise value as of June 30, 2017. Assets Under Management (“AUM”) and Fee Paying Assets Under Management (“FPAUM”) were $153 billion and $114 billion, respectively as of September 30, 2017. Jerome Kohlberg, Jr. and cousins Henry Kravis and George R. Roberts, all of whom had previously worked together at Bear Stearns, where the three completed some of the leveraged buyout transactions founded the company. Kohlberg Kravis Roberts has completed a number of transactions including the 1989 leveraged buyout of RJR Nabisco, which was a large buyout in history to that point, as well as the 2007 buyout of TXU, which is currently also a large buyout completed to date since its founding. Kohlberg Kravis Roberts has offices in 21 cities in 16 countries across 5 continents. The firm is currently headquartered in the Solow Building, New York, but in October 2015, the firm announced its intentions to occupy a newly constructed 30 Hudson Yards. In October 2009, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts listed shares in the company through KKR & Co., an affiliate that holds 30% of the firm's ownership equity, with the remainder held by the firm's partners. Kohlberg Kravis Roberts filed to list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in March 2010, with trading commencing four months later, on July 15, 2010.

Kohlberg Kravis Roberts

Vintage is a global venture firm that invests in venture funds and startups via primary and secondary transactions. Through its secondary strategy, the firm acquires limited partnership interests in Israeli, European, and select U.S. venture capital funds as well as holdings in technology startups. It also invests directly into growth-stage startups across all 3 geographies, alongside partner VC funds.

Vintage Investment Partners

Coatue is a privately owned hedge fund sponsor. The firm invests in the public equity markets globally focusing on investments in technology, media, and telecommunications in addition to other sectors. It employs a long or short strategy to make its investments.

Coatue

Prosus Ventures is a venture investing arm of Prosus that invests in technology startups. They identify companies and founders with high potential and the ambition to scale globally correctly. Their goal is to help companies quickly impact the communities where they operate and provide them with tailored support that enables them to be leaders in their chosen markets.

Prosus Ventures

Wolt

Wolt is a food delivery company specializing in real-time logistics optimization. The technology company is known for its food delivery platform which enables its users to easily discover and get the food that they want by just selecting a restaurant, placing the order, and hitting send. It has raised $856 million from investors Iconiq Growth, Tiger Global, DST, KKR, Prosus, EQT Growth, and Coatue as well as 83North, Highland Europe, Goldman Sachs Growth Equity, EQT Ventures, and Vintage Investment Partners. In 2014, co-founders Miki Kuusi, Juhani Mykkänen, Elias Aalto, Lauri Andler, Mika Matikainen, and Oskari Petas headquartered the delivery company in Helsinki, Southern Finland.

<div>Wolt is a Finland-based online food delivery platform founded by CEO Miki Kuusi (former CEO of Slush, an annual startup and tech conference) that delivers a variety of food from restaurants to homes and offices. Wolt initially focused on being a mobile-first app and only later optimized its web approach to create an online platform for customers. The company&rsquo;s proprietary algorithm optimizes customer experience continuously as well as logistics (calculating routes in real-time) to increase delivery efficiency.</div>

From fast food to fine dining, everything but the kitchen sink is suddenly just a tap away.

Online Food Delivery

MarTech Interview With Catalina Salazar, Global Head @ Wolt Ads

<div>
 
 Wolt is a Finland-based online food delivery platform founded by CEO Miki Kuusi (former CEO of Slush, an annual startup and tech conference) that delivers a variety of food from restaurants to homes and offices. Wolt initially focused on being a mobile-first app and only later optimized its web approach to create an online platform for customers. The company&rsquo;s proprietary algorithm optimizes customer experience continuously as well as logistics (calculating routes in real-time) to increase delivery efficiency.
 
 
 As of January 2021, the company operated in 129 cities in 23 countries, most of which are Nordic and Eastern European, with Germany the latest nation to join the fray (August 2020). Further, it has connected with more than 30,000 restaurants and over 60,000 couriers. Wolt&rsquo;s revenue exceeded EUR 30 million (approximately USD 34.2 million) in 2018, and was recognized as the second-fastest growing company in Europe in 2020 by the Financial Times.
 
 
 Wolt received an investment of EUR 7.5 million (approximately USD 8.8 million) from Lukasz Gadowski, co-founder of Delivery Hero, in October. Wolt looks to compete with dominant competitor Just Eat Takeaway for the German market, having launched in Berlin, Germany in August 2020. In January 2021, the company raised USD 530 million in a new venture round.
 
</div>

<div>
 
 DoorDash operates an online food delivery platform, connecting restaurants with customers, across the US, Australia, Canada and Japan. As of February 2022, the company was the market leader in the US among OFD players, with an estimated 58% market share according to Bloomberg Second Measure. Its US operations span over 4,000 cities, with more than 400,000 restaurant partners servicing over 18 million customers, as of April 2021. DoorDash is one of the first startups (along with Postmates) to offer a delivery facility through an aggregator platform, which competitor GrubHub only started in 2015. The company has also expanded into grocery and convenience store delivery over the last 2-3 years, with a hybrid business model consisting of a mix of supermarket partnerships and its own network of dark stores. As of June 2022, the company operated in 27 countries including the US, Canada, Japan, Germany, Australia, Israel, and New Zealand as well as countries in the Nordics, Baltics, Eastern and Central Europe, and the Caucasus.
 
 
 Prior to the pandemic, DoorDash charged restaurants a commission of up to 30% of order value, and a service or delivery fee from customers, depending on the type of service (takeout or delivery). However, during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, third-party delivery platforms were criticized for their heavy commission fees, with several cities across the US imposing a temporary 15% delivery commission cap to support restaurants, given their higher dependency on third party food delivery providers. In response, DoorDash introduced a new three tiered commission structure for US restaurants (with less than 75 locations) in April 2021, ranging between 15%-30% delivery commission (+6% pickup commission), with limits on 1) delivery area; 2) app visibility; and 3) access to high-value DashPass customers, for the lower commission range. Under the new commission structure, consumers bear a higher share of delivery costs. Consumers who subscribe (USD 9.99 per month) to DashPass, however, are eligible for zero delivery fees on orders over USD 12.00. The company classifies DashPass subscribers as &ldquo;high-value&rdquo;, likely due to their frequency of ordering food delivery. In April 2022, the company launched 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/9779">
 &ldquo;DashPass for Students,&rdquo; 
 </a>
 a discounted subscription plan for college students. The new program builds on its existing DashPass (launched in 2018), allowing DoorDash to make its services more accessible to students across the US.&nbsp;
 
 
 DoorDash also operates other business models such as 1) DoorDash Self-Delivery: a platform that allows restaurants and food businesses to have a listing on the DoorDash platform, while using their own delivery people and setting their own delivery zone and fees (lower commission vs. restaurants that use DoorDash&rsquo;s drivers); and 2) DoorDash Drive (Drive): a white-label product, which allows participating restaurants to offer delivery through their own apps or websites (instead of the DoorDash app) with delivery being carried out by DoorDash drivers. In March 2022, the company conducted a beta launch of its new feature &ldquo;Return a Package,&rdquo; allowing customers to return packages to the closest post office, UPS, or FedEx location. In 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/19802">
 June 2023
 </a>
 , DoorDash launched a new Earn by Time feature that enables drivers to choose between getting compensated for each delivery or being paid an hourly flat rate. DoorDash also launched a safety feature that allows drivers to share their location with up to five contacts. In 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/20692">
 July 2023
 </a>
 , DoorDash tested Dash AI, an AI-powered chatbot, in select markets. DoorDash expects the technology to expedite the ordering process and enable customers to receive personalized restaurant recommendations by using simple text prompts.
 
 
 In contrast to competitor UberEats - which has expanded aggressively through a series of acquisitions - DoorDash has predominantly grown organically, with the support of a few strategic acquisitions. DoorDash&rsquo;s most recent acquisition was in March 2022, when it entered into a definitive agreement to 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/8851">
 acquire Bbot,
 </a>
 a contactless ordering and payment solution provider. The purchase allowed the company to expand its in-store operations product suite for merchants, including in-store digital ordering and payments. Previously, the company acquired Chowbotics, the developer of a stationary salad-making robot, &ldquo;Sally,&rdquo; in February 2021. In July 2022, DoorDash announced plans to shut down Chowbotics. &nbsp;In August 2019, the company bought rival online food delivery platform Caviar for USD 410 million. The acquisition strengthened Doordash&rsquo;s market share in Pennsylvania and Oregon, where Caviar had more than 10% market share.
 
 
 In June 2022, DoorDash completed its acquisition of Wolt, a Finland-based online food delivery platform. The acquisition expanded DoorDash&rsquo;s global presence from four countries to 27. The deal was closed at a value close to USD 3.5 billion, although it was initially valued at USD 8.1 billion when announced in November 2021. This is a result of DoorDash's share price falling by more than 55% since November. DoorDash issued over 46 million shares to Wolt shareholders in the transaction. Wolt CEO Miki Kuusi was to head the company's operations outside the US, including Wolt&rsquo;s 23 markets as well as Australia, Canada, and Japan. In less than two weeks following the acquisition, Wolt launched its new subscription service
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/11037">
 
 Wolt+
 </a>
 in Prague and scaled its operations in Israel by launching operations in Israel&rsquo;s northern region.&nbsp;
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships
 
 
 DoorDash has restaurant partnerships with Chipotle, Denny&rsquo;s, Wingstop and Little Caesars. In February 2022, DoorDash launched 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/8416">
 DoorDash Capital 
 </a>
 in partnership with Parafin, a financial services technology company, to provide revenue-based financing to eligible restaurants and DoorDash merchants. It would support investments in growth including purchasing equipment, hiring, marketing costs, rent, and payroll. That same month, DoorDash Storefront (launched in 2020) integrated with Google to offer commission-free online orders to restaurant partners in the US. In March 2021 Doordash partnered with Missouri-based family-owned supermarket retailer Schnuck Markets to deliver prepared meals from five store locations in St. Louis, Missouri, to addresses within a six-mile radius of the stores. In July 2022 the two companies expanded the partnership to include 25 locations across Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana. In January 2023 expanded its delivery 
 <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2022/09/13/starbucks-and-doordash-to-launch-delivery-partnership-in-atlanta-expand-nationwide-in-2023/">
 partnership
 </a>
 with Starbucks to include the delivery of&nbsp; Starbucks products across all 50 US states by March 2023. In 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/19802">
 June 2023
 </a>
 , the company partnered with Amazon Canada to offer a free one-year membership of the company's subscription service, DashPass, to Amazon Prime members.
 
 
 Funding and financials
 
 
 DoorDash generated a revenue of USD 8,635 million and incurred an operating loss of USD 579 million during the year ended December 2023.
 
</div>

DoorDash

Gousto is a subscription-based recipe kit startup based in the UK, with operations in the UK and <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/31074">Northern Ireland</a>. Customers have the option to select from two-person or family box options, with a choice between two and four recipes that may price a serving between USD 3.80 to USD 7.90. Gousto has a range of recipes catering to different customer preferences such as vegetarian, plant-based, gluten-free, dairy-free, DIY pizza bases, lean in 15, healthy choice, 10-minute meals as well as oven-ready options.Gousto <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/8713">raised USD 230 million </a>in February 2022. The round followed an infusion of <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/7648">USD 150 million </a>in January 2022. Both rounds were led by Softbank’s Vision Fund 2. The company intended to use the funds to double its tech team by the end of 2022.The company reported revenue growth of 67% YoY to GBP 315 million (~USD 393.8 million) in <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/10005">FY2021. </a>Gousto reported that it had sold 90 million+ meals in 2021 compared to 53 million meals the previous year. EBITDA was up 10% YoY to GBP 20 million (~USD 25 million) in FY2021, while net cash from operations reported growth of 136% YoY to GBP 37 million (~USD 46.3 million).

Gousto

Mindful Chef, founded in the UK, provides health-focused meal kits with pre-portioned fresh ingredients, free-range chicken, 100% grass-fed beef and UK-landed fresh fish. A weekly box contains between two to five recipes and customers are able to choose from 16 recipes which are changed weekly, with vegan options as well as gluten-free and dairy-free options. The company caters to flexitarians, vegetarians and pescatarians, too. Additionally, the company donates a meal to a child in poverty for each meal purchased. Customers are able to skip, pause, cancel or schedule one-off deliveries at any time. The company also offers frozen meals and smoothies. As of September 2020, the company states that more than 5 million meals have been sold to more than 100,000 customers. In <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/31072">June 2024</a>, Mindful Chef launched its services in Northern Ireland.In December 2021, the company partnered with the British supermarket brand <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/kevinrozario/2021/12/28/waitrose-pioneers-recipe-box-service-with-mindful-chef/?sh=214ea7df40d5">Waitrose </a>to offer a co-branded recipe box that featured a Waitrose Cooks’ Ingredient product. In April 2022, the company expanded its partnership with Waitrose by launching a quartet of chilled ready meals available via Waitrose stores. In August 2022, the company partnered with Diabetes UK to launch a new meal range for customers with type 2 diabetes. The menus came with extensive nutritional labeling and include gluten-free, dairy-free, and plant-based options. In September 2023, Mindful Chef partnered with the fast food brand LEON to launch four healthy fast food recipes.

Mindful Chef

<div>
 
 HelloFresh delivers weekly meal kits, containing pre-portioned fresh ingredients and step-by-step recipes, to its subscribers in 18 countries (as of October 2022) across Europe, North America, Australia, and New Zealand, with a global base of 8.0 million active customers as of Q2 2022. Its meal kits are priced between USD 7.49&ndash;10.99 per meal, in-line with competitors Blue Apron and Marley Spoon, with consumers subscribing to a weekly (rather than monthly) service, which enables more flexibility to skip weeks. HelloFresh launched its own delivery fleets in the 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/24686">
 US
 </a>
 and the 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/18306">
 UK
 </a>
 in 2023. 
 
 
 HelloFresh has grown its US presence and product offerings through a combination of acquisitions and organic growth, aligned to its multi-tier brand strategy. The company acquired premium brand Green Chef in March 2018, and subsequently, extended its menu offerings to include organic meals for US customers, including special diets such as ketogenic and paleo. In 
 <a href="https://www.thegrocer.co.uk/online/hellofresh-launches-specialist-diet-meal-kit-brand-green-chef-in-uk/655593.article">
 April 2021
 </a>
 , following its success in the US market, Green Chef was expanded to the UK. In August 2022, Green Chef was also launched in the Netherlands. The company&rsquo;s acquisition of Factor (a ready-to-eat meal company) in December 2020 was aimed at expanding into the convenience-focused customer segment. In terms of organic growth, the company launched its value brand, EveryPlate, in 2018 for budget-conscious consumers, featuring meal kits that average around USD 4.99 per serving.
 
 
 Overseas, HelloFresh acquired a ~10% stake in Russia&rsquo;s largest meal-kit provider Chefmarket, in September 2021, through a cash capital increase. HelloFresh has also announced plans to acquire Australia-based ready-meals firm Youfoodz (announced in July 2021), which would expand its customer base in Australia as well as its presence in the ready-to-heat category.&nbsp;
 
 
 Funding and financials
 
 
 In December 2021, the company announced plans to invest EUR 450 million&ndash;550 million (~USD 507 million&ndash;620 million) and plans to strengthen its 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/7315">
 capacity expansion
 </a>
 and customer experience
 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/7315">
 plan
 </a>
 by further opening fulfillment centers and increasing its theoretical revenue capacity across all verticals to over EUR 10 billion (~USD 14 billion). Two months later, HelloFresh-owned prepared meal delivery company Factor announced the 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/8234">
 opening of a new distribution center
 </a>
 in Lake Zurich, IL.
 
</div>

HelloFresh

Territory Foods offers more than 35 different meals that are updated weekly and are either cooked prior to delivery or delivered as meal kits containing produce. Customers can choose to select delivery of weekly meal plans, individually customize a plan, or market boxes with fresh products to cook at home. Meals are free of refined sugars, gluten, and dairy, however, the company is not certified dairy-free, gluten-free or other allergen-free.In April 2021, the company raised USD 22 million in a venture round led by US Venture Partners and celebrity athletes Abby Wambach and Vernon Davis. The company intends to divert the fresh funds for its expansion into new cities. The investment round brings the total funds raised to date to USD 44 million.

Territory Foods

Platforms that offer ready-to-cook meal kits to individuals who are interested in cooking, but have limited time or skills. Meal kits usually include recipes with step-by-step instructions along with pre-portioned ingredients. Food delivery is often carried out by independent contract workers who are either registered with the platform or employed directly by the platform.

Platforms that prepare and deliver meals based on rotating menus that allow the customer to choose a meal plan of up to multiple dishes for a week with a low level of consumer involvement in cooking and plating. Food delivery is often carried out by independent contract workers who are either registered with the platform or employed directly by the platform.

On-demand delivery platforms that offer a wide range of items (such as various cuisines, groceries, etc)

On-demand delivery platforms that offer specific types of food or cuisine

Infrastructure providers that offer delivery or dispatch management systems

Infrastructure providers that offer white label online ordering websites and apps for restaurants to build their own in-house solutions

Infrastructure providers that offer solutions to help restaurants integrate and centralize online ordering and delivery systems from multiple third party vendors

Solutions in the "in-house ordering solutions" segment allow restaurants to build custom websites, menus, etc.

Most solutions available in "in-house ordering solutions" provide B2B SaaS solutions

Some OFD players such as Uber and Grubhub provide autonomous food delivery services

Wolt

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