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DoorDash has agreed to buy Instacart for about $17 billion in cash and stock, giving it a bigger foothold in online grocery delivery.
The why: the deal brings Instacart’s grocery marketplace and retailer partnerships into DoorDash’s business. Instacart CEO Chris Rogers says it will make online grocery shopping ‘more seamless and affordable’ for millions of households.
Restaurant delivery remains DoorDash’s main business. The company, valued at about $73 billion, still relies heavily on Americans ordering meals through its app.
DoorDash earned $13.7 billion in revenue in 2025. It does not disclose how much comes from each category, so the exact contribution from restaurant delivery is unclear.
What DoorDash gets: buying Instacart would give DoorDash a larger grocery business, more retailer relationships and more reasons for customers to open its app beyond ordering dinner.
DoorDash brings its strength in restaurant delivery, while Instacart adds an established grocery network. Together, they could handle more of a household’s everyday shopping.
Some background: DoorDash began adding grocery stores to its app in the summer of 2020, when pandemic restrictions kept people at home and online shopping surged.
A year later, it reportedly considered buying Instacart for $40 billion to $50 billion, as the grocery platform’s valuation soared during the pandemic.
Those talks fell apart amid concerns about regulatory scrutiny under Lina Khan, who chaired the US Federal Trade Commission at the time. Instacart eventually went public in 2023 at a valuation of about $10 billion, well below the figures discussed during the pandemic.
Why now: Walmart and Amazon together account for roughly half of US online grocery sales. That leaves other retailers competing for the remaining share, with many relying on platforms such as Instacart to handle online orders and deliveries.
Instacart works with grocery chains including Albertsons, Fred Meyer and Safeway, giving DoorDash access to an established network of retail partners.
Earlier this year, research firm eMarketer estimated that Instacart would account for roughly 65% of the US third-party grocery delivery market in 2026. This refers to grocery orders handled by delivery platforms, rather than the entire online grocery market.
