Competition for supermarkets delivery services and convenience stores is expected to heat up further as ride-hailing group Bolt has raised €600mln (£513mln) to expand into grocery deliveries.
Uber's Estonia-based rival has already moved into takeaway food delivery, car-sharing and rentals of electric scooters and bicycles since being founded as a taxi-hailing app in 2013.
READ: Ultra-fast delivery startups are major threat to grocery landscape, says JP Morgan
The new Bolt Market 15-minute grocery delivery service is to be launched in ten European countries over the coming months, including Sweden, Portugal, Croatia, the Baltics and Central Europe, using the company's existing technology and courier network from its takeaway food delivery operations.
Super-fast grocery delivery is a market that has taken off in Europe in the past couple of years and is already a crowded market, according to JPMorgan, with restaurant delivery names such as Delivery Hero (ETR:DHER, OTCQX:DLVHF) joining specialists like Getir, Gorillas, Beelivery and Weezy.
Privately owned Bolt, formerly known as Taxify, was valued at roughly US$4.75bn in the funding round, up from its last valuation of US$2bn in December.
“After seven years of relentless execution, Bolt’s mobility and delivery products offer a better alternative to almost every use case a car serves,” said Bolt chief executive Markus Villig.
“I’m thrilled to bring these products to millions of customers around Europe and Africa, taking the emphasis off cars and giving cities back to the people.”
He said Bolt’s 'super-app' is “building a future where people are not forced to buy cars that cause traffic and pollution, but use on-demand transport when they actually need it.”
New investors Sequoia, Tekne and Ghisallo joined in the funding round alongside existing investors D1 Capital, G Squared and Naya.