Delivery Hero invests in gorillas

The start-up has been trying for months to attract investors for a financing round, and now the Berliners have succeeded: The start-up has raised one billion US dollars and Delivery Hero now holds an eight percent stake in Gorillas.

First an investor backed out, then the first rumors about an investment by Delivery Hero emerged, now there is confirmation: The ten-minute delivery service has raised one billion US dollars in a Series C financing round, with 235 million US dollars coming from Delivery Hero. Existing investors such as the Chinese investor Tencent and the American investors Coatue, DST, Dragoneer and (Atlantic) Food Labs, who were already involved in Gorillas' seed round, are also taking part. New investors include G Squared, Alanda Capital and Thrive Capital.

As a result, Delivery Hero, which was only promoted to the DAX last year, will receive eight percent of Gorillas. "With Delivery Hero, we have chosen a strong strategic supporter that is deeply rooted in the global delivery market," says Gorillas CEO Kağan Sümer. The Berlin-based company plans to invest the money from the current round in ongoing operations, technology and marketing.

Gorillas became a unicorn in March when it raised 290 million US dollars. Founded in 2020, the start-up is active in nine markets and says it has delivered 4.5 million orders in the past six months. According to a report by Gründerszene Gorillas originally wanted to be valued at five billion euros with the current financing round, but the valuation is now likely to be 3.1 billion euros.

The bumpy search for investors can also be attributed to the increasing criticism of Gorillas. The promise to deliver every purchase in ten minutes has left its mark on the employees: for months, the start-up's riders have been calling for strikes at regular intervals, demanding higher wages and better working conditions. Time and again, employees from the management level appear at the strikes, but according to the riders, the conditions have not changed. Just last week, Gorillas dismissed the demonstrators of the strikes without notice and the dismissals are currently being reviewed by the labor courts in Berlin.