Instacart gathered US $8.5 million in series A funding after it partnered with Sequioa Capital. The revolutionary grocery delivery business would be using the funds to expand further than San Francisco and be present in at least ten cities in the US by 2014.
Sequoia led the round with contribution from SV Angel, Canaan Partners, Khosla Ventures and Gmail creator Paul Buchheit. Meanwhile, Sequioa's chairman Michael Moritz joined the Board of Directors of Instacart. Moritz was formerly part of Webvan's board.
"Having been involved in Webvan, Sequoia is painfully familiar with what it takes to be successful in the grocery delivery business," said Moritz in a statement.
The basic structure of Instacart is heavy on labor force aptly called as 'personal shoppers'. They are tasked to shop for the clients and deliver the goods utilizing their personal vehicles within an hour. The scheme removes the need for expensive infrastructure like trucks and warehouses.
"We're really excited to be working with the Sequoia team, who bring extremely valuable and relevant experience to the table," said Apoorva Mehta, CEO and founder of Instacart.
"Now that we have our San Francisco operation up and running and we have a great formula for success, it's time to turn our attention to national expansion," Mehta added.
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